More than a dozen Edmonton neighbourhoods will soon test out a new way of collecting garbage.
About 8,000 homes in 13 neighbourhoods have been selected to take part in the Edmonton Cart Rollout. The new system will see residents use separate carts and bags for the four main types of waste:
- Green cart: For food scraps and day-to-day waste
- Black cart: For trash going to the landfill
- Blue bags: For recycling
- Paper bags: For seasonal yard waste
The green carts will be collected weekly in the spring, summer and fall, and biweekly in the winter. The black carts will be collected biweekly. The blue bags will be collected weekly. The paper bags will be collected twice in the spring and twice in the fall.
The new system is meant to encourage people to sort their household waste to reduce the amount of garbage being sent to the landfill.
The following 13 neighbourhoods have been selected to try out the program, beginning the week of April 15:
- Baturyn
- Beacon Heights
- Brintnell
- CY Becker
- Chambery
- Delwood
- Ellerslie
- Forest Heights
- Kensington
- Kiniski Gardens
- Miller
- Satoo
- Tamarack
“The neighbourhood routes were selected to provide a representative sample of the city, and took into consideration neighbourhood design, mature and new neighbourhoods, front and back-alley collection routes and demographic diversity,” the city said in a media release Tuesday.
Those testing out the program will receive a letter in the mail this month. Along with the carts and bags, residents will receive a new waste collection schedule and a food scrap pail intended to be used in the kitchen.
Residents asked to participate will not have to pay for the bins, the city said. All carts and support for the program will be provided with the existing utility budget.
The city’s Waste Services department will use the public feedback to better understand what works and what doesn’t with the cart program over the next year before looking at rolling it out city-wide.
WATCH: Changes could be on the way for Edmonton garbage separation (February 2018)