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Dufferin County raises price for garbage bag tags

July 2, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

It will cost Dufferin County residents more to put an extra bag of trash at the curb on garbage day, when the refuse is collected from their respective neighbourhoods.

Users of the collection system were permitted one bag of non-recyclable, non-compostable garbage each week. To enable the collection of a second black bag or third, and more, required a purchased tag that would be placed on each extra bag to cover collection costs.

Those $2 bag tags you’d pick up at a grocery store or another vendor will now cost you $3.

Councillor Darren White, who is also Melancthon’s mayor and a former county warden, said he believes the bag tag rates should remain as they are.

“I don’t think it should be increased at the moment for any number of reasons,” White said. “One (reason) is the economy.”

He said it may be something to consider in the future.

“But right now is not the time to do it,” White said.

A total of 52,903 bag tags were sold throughout 2025 by vendors and the county. By increasing the garbage bag tag fee, the number of bag tags sold per year may decrease if residents and program users decide to further sort their garbage and use diversion programs rather than purchase bag tags for additional garbage bags.

As you would in the ever-constant effort to stretch a buck and save money.

The bag tag revenue for the county has been around $100,000 per year,

which would increase to about $150,000 in revenue with an increase to the bag tag fee.

“Increased garbage bag tag revenues would help offset more costs of the waste services programs,” according to the report. “By increasing the price per bag tag, it may also encourage some program users to properly sort their garbage so they don’t need an extra bag.”

And that would ultimately cut down on the number of extra bags generated. All the non-reusable trash has to go somewhere.

The county’s bag tag fee has not been reviewed since it was imposed upon municipalities in 2013.

Coun. Todd Taylor, Orangeville’s deputy mayor, said it is time the rates were increased. It’s silly, he said, that the county hasn’t done anything in that regard since 2013.

“It’s absolutely asinine and it’s irresponsible,” Taylor said of the notion not to increase a tag price.

Coun. Philip Rentsch, Grand Valley’s deputy mayor, said inflation affects consumers and service providers.

“You have to take a big jump at some point in time,” he said.

Scott Burns, the county’s public works director, said the setup is adequately enforced and agreed with Taylor and Rentsch that the fees haven’t kept up with the cost of running the system.

“This (tag price increase) is only for additional bags,” Burns said.

Coun. Janet Horner, Mulmur’s mayor, said the research is clear. More people will advance recycling efforts if garbage disposal costs more.

“The more money it costs you to dispose of your garbage, the more you try to do other things,” she said.

“It seems the general consensus around the table is to increase (price),” said Warden Lisa Post, Orangeville’s mayor.

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