Vernon garbage pickup moves to bi-weekly once organics starts

Feb 17, 2022 | 1:30 PM

The City of Vernon continues to prepare its residents for the start of the curbside organics collection program.

The initiative is expected to begin May 1 and will allow residents to put their household food and yard waste into separate collection bins with the contents collected every week.

All residences that currently get automated curbside garbage pick-up will also be part of the organics collections program.

The city is reiterating that once the new service starts, residential garbage collection will change from a weekly service, to bi-weekly, meaning pick-up every two weeks.

The decision to move to bi-weekly was first announced at a council meeting in December 2021, and has been based on waste management studies in communities similar to Vernon.

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The city says the Compost Council of Canada estimates about one-third of residential waste in British Columbia is organic kitchen food scraps and yard waste, meaning less will go into the regular garbage bin.

“The purpose of the new organics collection program in Vernon is to divert that waste from landfill. Once the organics program begins, we expect to see a reduction in the volume of material being placed in garbage carts. Therefore, weekly garbage collection is expected to be no longer required,” said Mayor Victor Cumming.

Vernon is hoping its organics program can be as successful as others in B.C., noting the City of Kamloops diverted 32,500 kgs of organic waste from landfills in the first three weeks of a curbside organics collection pilot program, which began in September 2021.

“This is the kind of positive result we’re looking for in Vernon,” said Cumming. “It will mean we’re taking specific and practical action on climate change as a whole community. More organics diverted from landfill, mean lower greenhouse gas emissions. It’s as simple as that. Diverting organics will also substantially extend the life of our waste disposal site and considerably lower costs over time.

Cumming added the shift to bi-weekly garbage collection makes good economic and environmental sense for Vernon, and the schedule will be set up so there are no additional waste trucks on Vernon streets.

More information will be available over the next few months as details about the new scheduling are determined. An updated waste collection schedule will be provided to residents before the changes take place in May.

The city also says its staff will not be taking requests to change the size of garbage carts at this time. Residents are encouraged to stay tuned to the city’s website and social media channels where more information will be posted as it is finalized.

by Pete McIntyre

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