New garbage, food scraps bins coming to more Edmonton homes

Garbage bags left at the curb are a normal sight in Edmonton residential neighbourhoods on waste collection day, but the city is taking steps to change this.

Starting in March, the city will be giving residents in all single-detached and some multi-unit homes a large cart to put their garbage bags in. Pickup frequency will be reduced from every week to every two weeks.

If residents know they produce less waste, they can request a smaller cart between January 6 and February 12, and will save about $4 a month.

The carts will be collected by an automated collection truck instead of by hand which is how garbage is currently collected.

Recycling will still be picked up weekly and left on the curb in a blue bag.

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Residents will also be receiving a food scraps cart and pail. It will be collected weekly, excluding the winter months when it will start collection every two weeks.

READ MORE: 13 Edmonton neighbourhoods to test out new garbage sorting, collection system

“The most significant change for residents will be sorting food scraps,” waste strategy director Jodi Goebel said.

“Instead of throwing food out in a garbage bag, Edmontonians will be responsible for putting it in a little food scraps pail set up in the kitchen for emptying into a food scraps cart provided by the city.”

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People can also top up the food scraps cart with yard waste.

This is the first big step in the city’s 25-year plan to divert 90 per cent of household waste from the landfill. It expects to reach about 65 per cent of residential waste reduction by 2023.

In the next few months, the city will launch new programs within the Edmonton Cart Rollout. One will be for homeowners with legal secondary suites to have the opportunity to share one set of carts between all suites and save money on their utility rate.

For residents who need help getting their garbage to the curb, the city will be offering an “assisted waste collection” service.

“Through two rounds of public engagement, Edmontonians expressed passion for waste management in their city and support for a cart-based system,” Goebel said. “The Edmonton Cart Rollout charts a clear path forward for transformational change for our city and will help us get closer to our overall waste-reduction goals.”

The city is encouraging residents to use its WasteWise app to find out when their new carts will be delivered, when the new collection system begins and to gather new sorting information.