Effective November 21, 2023, the price of Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh garbage bag tags will increase by 50 cents to $2.50 each. 

The cost of bag tags in ACW had been $2.00 since 2005. Previous to that they were $1.25 in 2001-2002 and $1.50 in 2003-2004. 

In 2022 the Township spent $218,240 (2023 projected costs $229,150) on curbside service and generated $108,120 in revenue from bag tags. In addition to the bag tag revenue there was $88,227 in blue box funding leaving a deficit of $21,893. An increase of $0.50 per bag tag would result in $27,030 in additional revenue which will further offset the annual CPI increase by Waste Management. 

One of the main reasons that municipalities charge for bag tags is to encourage recycling. While recycling does cost more than disposing materials in the landfill initially there is longer term savings in landfilling costs.  If the cost is appropriate residents are motivated to recycle as much as possible to keep their personal costs down. If the cost is inappropriately high, you may see an increase in illegal dumping.