240 litre waste carts being delivered to Vernon residences. (Image credit: City of Vernon)

By Pete McIntyre

fire danger reduced

New automated carts to be used for waste in all of Vernon

Sep 3, 2021 | 6:00 AM

The City of Vernon is asking all residents to use their new garbage carts for waste, and not water.

While an evacuation alert was in place for the White Rock Lake wildfire, the city provided an opportunity for select residences to use their new automated garbage collection carts as water containers, to quickly and easily douse potential spot fires, if embers travelled into their neighbourhood.

That alert was lifted on September 1.

The residences were located in the following areas:

Canadian Lakeview Estates
Adventure Bay
The southwest portion of Tronson Road
Eastside Road

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Given the progress crews are making on the fire, cooler weather patterns, and the rescinding of the alert, the city is requesting that all residents who have been using their new carts for water now take steps to empty them in a controlled manner and begin using them for waste collection immediately.

“Residents may consider using the water for practical reasons on their properties (such as watering their garden or lawn), or storing it in a different container to be used over time, instead of discarding it all at once,” a city news release stated.

The city continues to deliver the new 240 litre carts to all parts of the community and anticipates deliveries to be complete later this month.

A brief information leaflet is included with each cart and a list of frequently asked questions about the program is available on the city’s website at vernon.ca/residentialgarbage.

by Pete McIntyre

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