Garbage & Recycling Pilot Program

This program is now over.

Garbage/Recyling Collection FOR January 2022 Alone

Currently, City staff continue to collect garbage and recycling during winter weather operations, working overtime to catch up and maintain the same collection day—or close to the same collection day—for as many residents as possible, returning to the same collection day the following week. If there is a one-day delay in collection, the cost for overtime is $4,500, With a two-day delay resulting in about $8,300 in overtime costs.

While the unpredictability of weather events are a budgeting challenge, holidays and days observed as holidays also require the working of overtime to catch up. The annual costs for holiday week catch-ups are about S40,000, more if the week has both a holiday and winter weather operation that affects the collection. For example, if Monday is a holiday, and Tuesday there is a plow operation that requires staff to catch up one day of collection, the costs would be $8,300 in overtime that week. 

The same Public Works staff who collect City garbage and recycling are those who plow our streets. Not only has overtime costs become unsustainable for the City, but staff face long hours of driving and service delivery as they juggle both snow plowing and garbage/recycling collection in the same time period. We wish to reduce injury, reduce unsafe conditions, save money, and continue to provide efficient services with the new pilot program.  

Collection Delayed by 1-Week FOR Garbage & Delayed 2-Weeks FOR Recycling

Under this pilot program, garbage/recycling collection will be skipped on any holidays, and also skipped on weather-impacted days. Garbage and recycling will then be collected a week later during the standard collection time.  

For example, let’s say your garbage collection day is typically on Monday. If that Monday is a holiday, such as Martin Luther King Day, (this year, Monday, January 17, 2022), your collection is skipped and will not be collected until the following Monday. This change allows the City to save $4,500 in overtime costs, to not over-strain a Public Works employee during a holiday week, to prevent injury or harm that often occurs during long hours, and more.