Garbage bag tag fees to increase January 1 2026

Bag tags will move to a cost of $3.00 per bag in response to increasing costs for curbside garbage collection

Garbage bag tag fees in Oxford County will increase from $2.00 a bag to $3.00 effective January 1, 2026.

The price change was approved at Oxford County Council today after a previous motion to increase bag tag fees on May 1 was defeated last council meeting. At that time, a staff report outlined how the $3.00 price per bag tag is needed to cover future costs of residential curbside collection and disposal. The January 1, 2026, start date gives residents more time before the price change while still addressing the shortfall in funding.

Bag tags have not increased in price since 2014. Since 2021, population growth, fuel and other inflationary costs, and new regulatory requirements have increased waste collection costs at a higher rate than income generated by bag tag fees. 

Oxford County uses a “user pay” system in which all residents pay according to how much waste they produce. This means the County’s garbage collection and disposal costs are 100% funded from bag tags, with budget surpluses or deficits moving into a waste management reserve fund each year. If the curbside garbage collection program were to be funded entirely through taxation, it would increase Oxford County’s general tax levy by almost $5.0 million (5.5% increase).

An independent audit of curbside garbage in Oxford County in 2021 found that on average more than half of the weight of individual garbage bags was made up of organic material. With the introduction of an organics, or green bin, program in the County for food waste, residents should notice a decrease in the number of garbage bags they are setting out. The green bin program starts in 2026 for the City of Woodstock and Township of South-West Oxford, and then in 2027 for all other Oxford municipalities (Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg and Zorra).

Bag tags can be purchased through retail vendors across Oxford County, at all nine municipal offices, and online at www.oxfordcounty.ca/bagtags, where residents can also find a list of vendors and locations.

Comment 

Marcus Ryan, Warden, Oxford County

“Oxford County Council gave careful consideration to the different alternatives for curbside waste collection and supported the best option and pricing available through the County’s competitive process. There is a cost to collect waste collection and it must be paid either through $3 bag tags or a 5.5% tax increase.

“At the end of the day, our waste collection program continues to offer great value for the level of service that is being provided to residents, in many cases for less than the cost of food delivery to your home. With the new organics program rolling out in Oxford, something residents have long asked for, we should also see fewer bags of garbage being set out at the curb. This is the end goal: extending the service life of our landfill, and delaying the need for a new one, as stewards of our natural environment.”

Quick facts 

• Approximately 100 municipalities use a partial user pay or full user pay system to fund curbside residential waste collection. Across Ontario, bag tag fees generally range from $2.00 to $5.00 per bag.
  
•  In a “user pay” system for waste collection, like the one in Oxford County, residents pay according to how much waste they produce. User pay systems promote recycling, fairness, and awareness of the costs of managing the waste that goes to the landfill. User pay systems for waste collection are considered best practice by Ontario’s Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) to promote recycling and other waste diversion.
  
• Oxford County’s most recent Annual Waste Management Report estimates the remaining service life of the landfill of the Oxford County Waste Management Facility to be approximately 27 to 32 years, depending on population growth. The development of a new municipal landfill in the County is estimated to be in the range of $40 million at current costs. 
  
• The curbside collection of organics (food waste) will start in the City of Woodstock and Township of South-West Oxford in early 2026, and then in May 2027 in all other Oxford municipalities (Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg and Zorra). 
  
• Oxford County’s Waste Management program will undergo several major changes in the next 30 months, including changeover to a six-day collection schedule, the transfer of blue box recycling to a new province-wide program, and the introduction of a curbside green bin program to collect food waste. For the latest updates, follow us on social media and check www.speakup.oxfordcounty.ca/new-waste-collection

About Oxford County 

Located in southwestern Ontario at the crossroads of Highways 401 and 403, Oxford County has a population of approximately 140,000 people across eight area municipalities that are “growing stronger together.” A partnership-oriented, two-tier municipal government, Oxford County is committed to 100% renewable energy, zero waste, zero poverty, and being 100% housed. Oxford County is situated in one of Ontario’s richest areas for farmland, with a diversified local economy that is home to an innovative agricultural industry, leading automotive manufacturers, and the Oxford County Cheese Trail. Oxford also offers a thriving local arts and culinary community, as well as conservation parks, natural areas and more than 100 kilometres of scenic trails. The County’s Strategic Plan puts forward a vision of “Working together for a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable future.” The Oxford County Administration Building is in Woodstock, Ontario. Visit www.oxfordcounty.ca, follow us on social media, or download our Facts and Stats to learn more.