BARRIE -- After months of waste collection woes in areas of Simcoe County, changes are on the way.

Starting in February, garbage and recycling collection will happen on alternating weeks, something that several other municipalities across the province have already established.

"Resolving the impacts to waste collections and restoring consistency and predictability to pickup schedules are top priorities for County council and our staff," Warden George Cornell said.

Many residents, however, say the fix stinks.

"We already pay taxes. It should be every week like it's been. It's going to cause great difficulties for a lot of people," Coldwater resident Stan Joskowitz said.

"They did collect the recycling and threw it into the garbage. They did it all together because of the staff shortage," said Karen Hill, resident.

The County has apologized for the delays residents have endured with collection pickup problems, blaming the issue on staffing challenges with the County's contractor.

"We've had some real difficulty getting recycling off the street. Essentially, our service provider hasn't had enough labour," said Rob McCullough, County of Simcoe director of solid waste management.

The County said alternating weeks would resolve the matter while also mitigating the need to increase costs for an alternate solution.

What you need to know starting Feb. 3, 2020

  • Collection days will remain the same
  • Bins and bags need to be curbside by 7 a.m.
  • Green bin collection will continue to happen every week
  • Residents are no longer required to separate recycling into bins

The County said the changes would restore not only predictability but also encourage positive waste habits.

Each resident will be mailed a voucher for a free blue bin to help support the bi-weekly change.

These changes do not apply to Barrie and Orillia residents.

- With files from CTV's Mike Arsalides