In two years, the way that garbage is collected in Waterloo Region will change drastically.
On Tuesday, the regional council’s planning and works committee approved a $284 million garbage contract, which will involve several changes in how garbage is collected in the area.
The 10-year deal with Emterra Environmental will involve garbage and green bin collection moving to an automated cart-based system.
Area residents will receive new garbage bins and green bins, which will be collected by trucks with arms similar to Toronto for over a decade.
The new garbage bins “would be equivalent to the three bags of garbage,” Director of Waste Management Jon Arsenault told the council on Tuesday.
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The move will also include a switch to different trucks.
“The use of a compressed natural gas renewable natural gas trucks will help the region meet its corporate target for lowering GHG emissions and supports climate aligned growth to steward our natural environment and shared resources as we grow,” Commissioner of Engineering and Environmental Services Jennifer Rose told the council.
“We will, with this contract, implement the four-day pickup week and the use of carts for cart collection, which was approved by the council last year.”
While the cost of garbage collection will almost double with the changes, Arsenault said that in addition to changes, inflation and increasing truck costs also contributed to that number.
“I think the biggest driver for (the switch) is the industry is going that that way. We would have difficulty getting, quotes and bids, to maintain the entire program under manual collection,” he explained.
A staff report says that the move will help reduce injuries for workers while also allowing for efficiencies for stop times.
The trucks will allow drivers to have 360 degree cameras which is expected to also reduce injuries.
The automation is also expected to help with staff retention and to allow for more diverse hiring practices.
The one thing that will not change is recycling collection, which will continue to be collected in blue boxes.