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Has the recycle program changed in the Southampton area over the last few years? For the last three years we have put glass items in the recycle bin and they have been collected?
We do like the rules and consequences being enforced for large garbage pick up.
Thanks,
Joan Dankert
Recycled items being collected on the Saugeen First Nations Reserve changed late last summer. The company that takes their recycled items has stopped taking glass of any kind and paper products (newspapers, box board, card board, etc..). Items that are still recycled include steel cans, aluminum cans and plastics. Please our Saugeen Recyclables page, where all of this information can be found including what types of plastic are acceptable.
We are not aware that South Bruce Peninsula or Saugeen Shores have changed their recycle list. For those who want to recycle glass and paper items there is always the option of taking them to the South Bruce Peninsula dump which is on the Sauble Falls Parkway a few kilometers north of the Falls on the right hand (east) side.
I am disappointed to hear that there is no longer paper recycling. It is not good for the environment for people to burn their paper products instead of recycling them.
As a First Nation I thought caring for Mother Earth was a priority.
Dear Jane,
Thank you for your comment about the Band not being able to recycle paper products (newspaper, fine paper, cardboard, boxboard). This is also true of glass. The company that takes the Band’s recycled material changed what they would take late last year. We too are concerned that these materials are ending up in the landfill or being burned.
This item has been added to the list of issues/concerns we have and will be discussed with the Chief and senior Band administrative staff with whom we meet a couple of times a year. Usually we meet in late August/early fall and will report back through the website when we have a better understanding of why paper and glass have been dropped and if the Band has plans to have them once again included on the recycle list.
Sincerely,
Rob McLaughlin
SCOI secretary/treasurer
We seem to be paying more each year and getting less!Only 1 large garbage pick up/the roads are not being maintained[grated reg]and the recycle program is a joke[when its picked up which changes week to week]
Steve,
Thank you for your comments. The Band’s decision to only collect large garbage items during the week following Labour Day is well documented on the SCOI website and was only in response to cottagers who were cheating the system by bringing large garbage items from home so they didn’t have to pay for disposal there.
At any time during the year cottagers can take large garbage items to the dump ($20). And if this is not possible, they can call the Works Department to arrange to have them picked up ($40). Simply discarding them at the end of your lane is also an option whereby the band will come and get them and bill the cottager $100.
Garbage discarded at the Dump gate when it is closed or along any other roadside will result in trespassing and dumping charges if the guilty party can be identified. We do not believe the Band’s position on any of this is unreasonable.
And may we remind everyone that large garbage items should not be placed at the roadside until Labour Day weekend and any items put out after the Fall collection period will be collected and the cottage owner billed a $100 collection fee.
As you point out the gravel roads and some of the paved roads have taken a beating this year because of all the wet weather we have had. The Band is aware of this issue and affects repairs and does additional grading when it can get to it. We have added this item to the list of issues to be discussed with senior Band staff when they meet with SCOI executive members in the fall.
We agree that the recycle program falls short of most cottager expectations in that glass, paper products, box board and cardboard are no longer recycled. However, we must also point out that many cottagers continue to put these items out for recycling which in turn slows down the pick-up schedule. We will be encouraging the Band to find a new recycling company for next year that will take all of the items listed above. But we also encourage cottagers and their guests to pay attention to what the recycling program will take to help the Band staff maintain their collection timetable.
There is an excellent list, on the SCOI website, of the items that can be recycled.
Has there been any direct discussions with respect to our “services” fee which is going up but the actual services provided drastically reduced?
The beach cleanup is gone. The garbage pickup reduced. The type of recycling taken reduced. What exactly are the services we are paying $800+ for? Road grating and calcium spraying much appreciated.
Jane
Thank you for your input. We will be meeting with the Chief in the next couple of weeks. We’ve been waiting for Band elections which took place yesterday.
Service fees and level of service, especially big garbage pick up and expanding recycling are on the list of items we intend to raise with the Chief. However, it should be pointed out that the service fee did not go up this year and for the most part we feel that the fees are quite reasonable given that they cover fire and police protection, roads (including winter snow removal) and household garbage collection. In addition we have free access to municipal water at public taps on French Bay Road and Charles Street.
We will post a report on our meeting with the Chief once it has taken place.
I agree with previous notes on the ever increasing fees for the garbage/blue box etc. fees. They have increased drastically in the last 5 years and services have drastically dropped. Our garbage/blue box pickup was not done 3 times, and other times done on the last day of the week last year. You can’t go to the Chief with these concerns when you have already posted that “you think they are quite reasonable”. These posts are read by all! Remember why SCOI was formed
Ross, we were very disappointed to read your comment on garbage fees – particularly your characterization of the fee as having been “increased dramatically in the past 5 years”.
As you are aware, garbage/ blue box fees are part of the overall service fee which also includes road maintenance and snow plowing, fire protection and security, including the OPP.
In the past 7 years the service fee has been as follows:
2012 $ 825.00
2013. 825.00. 0% increase
2014. 825.00. 0% increase
2015. 850.00 3% increase
2016. 850.00. 0% increase
2017 875.00. 2.9% increase
2018. 875.00. 0% increase
So you can see that over that period there have been 6 opportunities for the Band to raise services fees and in 4 of the six years they have chosen not to – including this past year. The increases over those 6 years average out to just over 1% per year which is significantly below the rate of inflation or cost of living increase for the same period. Please also keep in mind that much of the service fee supports the salaries of Band Members who provide these services.
We are fully aware of the SCOI mandate and in liaising with the Band on behalf of land lease cottagers we try to be respectful, fair, supportive and appreciative of the fact that we are all here sharing in this wonderful place because the Band and its members allow it.
I agree with the previous comments. The service fees are increasing but services decreased, no large items collections at all as of this year (2018). If the services are decreasing why are the fees increasing?
Also, the service fees are to provide street lighting. At Chief’s Point there are no street lights at all!
While I appreciate the new application of gravel on Thompson Ave, there is still need for an additional application of the calcium spraying which reduces the unhealthy and dirty dust.
Also, I have a little dog that I walk 2 to 3 times daily on our section of Thompson Ave. During these walks I have discovered a number of large nails or spikes in the gravel, so much so that I started to count them. Todate I have a total of 24 nails/spikes in the gravel on our relatively small section of Thompson Ave. Obviously the gravel applied was not “clean” gravel but from second hand construction sites. While the majority of the spikes have been straight a number of them have been bent which could easily puncture a tire…..fair warning to everyone driving on Thompson. Where does the liability lie?
The SCOI executive is meeting with the Chief this Friday (27th) and will bring this issue to his attention. Thank you for making us aware.
Not withstanding the issues with recycling and large junk pick up we believe the band is doing a good job overall for the fee we pay to maintain roads, beach, fire and police coverage etc. If you think our fee is high think of what the cottagers pay in the kawarthas for taxes.
As a land locked cottage on the south shore, our only parking is on the beach in front of our place. What are the provisions are their if the water is too high or driving on the beach is banned? Our cottage has been there since 1927.
We expect to meet with the Chief soon and this will be on our list. In the past (late 80’s) when the water has been high, cottagers have driven through water on the beach to get to their cottages. We will ask if there will be alternative parking in the event the water level gets too high. So far we have had no indication that driving on the beach will be banned for those with beach access only cottages.
We are new to French Bay (2018). Can anyone tell us where the black mulch that washes up on our beach periodically comes from?
The black mulch is usually bits of bark, grass and leaves that have washed down the Saugeen and Sauble rivers earlier in the spring when the rivers are running high and often over their banks. This mulch is more prevalent in the spring and early summer. It washes up on the beach and then when the lake is very rough, waves will take it back out where it will lie on the bottom and over time wash up onto the beach again.
Another type of”mulch” being washed up this year is comprised of blackened roots from beach grass that has been pulled out by wave action as the lake levels increase. These tend to be long pieces of root that are rolled up onto the beach as opposed to the bark mulch which is much finer. The lake level will likely keep rising until mid-August, so we can expect beach grass roots to continue to roll up onto the beach for a few more weeks.