Niagara's Regional Chair says it was a surprise to hear Niagara Falls Council wants to go it alone for garbage collection.
Chair Jim Bradley says other areas could be impacted if Niagara Falls forges ahead with plans to leave the regional contract.
"If you're another municipality out there, the ramifications would mean you're going to pay more because the contract that you've signed is really a contract based on the entire region. And if you start having it fragmented, that's going to have an effect on the contract."
Bradley adds, "It's a major undertaking to establish a new waste management system because really you're taking over collection and management of that waste as well. So you're hiring staff and making some significant changes. So it's somewhat of a surprise, and I think most of us at the region would hope that they would look closely at the potential ramifications before a final decision is made."
Niagara Falls council has hired a lawyer to examine their options.
Niagara's residents will be allowed to put out two containers of garbage for collection every two weeks. Officials say the switch is an effort to encourage more people to use green and recycling bins efficiently.