With the MRC’s proposed waste incineration project in the political spotlight at the moment, there have been many questions from the public regarding efforts to reduce the overall waste tonnages that the region produces.
While the overall tonnages for the MRC are on a downward trend following a spike during the pandemic years, the cost per ton of waste is expected to increase in the future.
The MRC entered into an agreement with McGrimmon Cartage in 2019 to receive and transport all the MRC’s household waste for up to five years, ending on August 18, 2024. In the first year of the contract, the price was $258.48/ton and it increased annually to $292.04/ton for the final year. At the MRC meeting on April 17, the council approved issuing a call for tenders for the contract (deadline June 11), with the stated goal of awarding the new contract at their June 19 public meeting.
A full breakdown of garbage tonnages by each MRC municipality from 2019 to 2023 is available below:
| Municipality | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Alleyn-et-Cawood | 116 | 101 | 109 | 102 | 89 |
| Bristol | 477 | 476 | 502 | 573 | 496 |
| Bryson | 169 | 168 | 161 | 170 | 171 |
| Campbell’s Bay | 200 | 174 | 190 | 186 | 177 |
| Chichester | 143 | 101 | 115 | 102 | 113 |
| Clarendon | 477 | 538 | 522 | 481 | 437 |
| Rapides-des-Joachims | 68 | 59 | 80 | 66 | 77 |
| Fort-Coulonge | 406 | 428 | 481 | 487 | 479 |
| L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet | 100 | 137 | 129 | 107 | 140 |
| L’Isle-aux-Allumettes | 459 | 394 | 504 | 495 | 513 |
| Litchfield | 157 | 173 | 175 | 165 | 180 |
| Mansfield-et-Pontefract | 739 | 746 | 1,011 | 949 | 790 |
| Otter Lake | 426 | 485 | 495 | 474 | 459 |
| Portage-du-Fort | 44 | 61 | 59 | 52 | 57 |
| Shawville | 483 | 669 | 757 | 676 | 648 |
| Sheenboro | 120 | 133 | 75 | 65 | 72 |
| Thorne | 75 | 100 | 102 | 97 | 103 |
| Waltham | 297 | 303 | 273 | 228 | 249 |
| Total | 4,956 | 5,246 | 5,740 | 5,475 | 5,250 |
