Waste removal pilot project coming to several hundred homes in Milton, Halton Hills

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Published April 12, 2023 at 9:32 am

Neighbourhoods in Milton and Halton Hills have been chosen for a region-wide pilot project that could have a long-lasting impact on the way waste is collected in Halton.

The neighbourhoods identified will see the traditional blue (recyclables) and grey (garbage) bins replaced with larger, wheeled carts that will be picked up on alternating weeks instead of weekly.

The pilot will launch later this year and will affect 260 homes on a block northwest of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Ontario St. in Milton; 125 homes north of No. 15 Sideroad between First Line Nassagaweya and Second Line Nassagaweya; and 260 homes northeast of Barber Dr. and Argyl Rd. in Georgetown.

The pilot project will last one year and is also being tested in Burlington and Oakville.

According to the report presented at Regional council, “the Automated Collection Demonstration Project will include a representative sample of single-family households in both the urban and rural areas of Halton Region, with an emphasis on households with small lots, long driveways, and potential curb space and storage limitations (i.e. townhouse complexes or new builds).”

According to a Halton Region report, the motivation behind any changes will be the ability to make waste collection more efficient. The different-sized wheeled carts will be collected through automation which will reduce the number of staff on the pick-up trucks.

A lone driver of the truck will be able to pick up the cart through a lift system that includes an automated arm that can grab and lift the bins.

Automated waste collection has been increasing across the country and has been used successfully in such places as Peel Region for several years.

“Where an Automated Wheeled Cart Collection program has been implemented, costs are also reduced by providing every other week collection of recyclable material and every other week collection of garbage to maximize efficiencies and reduce the cost to purchase additional collection vehicles,” the report reads.

“An automated wheeled cart collection vehicle is also able to service approximately 35 to 40 per cent more households on a daily basis than a collection vehicle performing manual collection of waste material. The rate of collection employee turnover is also less frequent, ensuring consistent levels of service by experienced and knowledgeable collection crews.”

Wheeled carts will be delivered between by early October. On the scheduled last day of manual Blue Box collection prior to the start of automated collection, selected households will receive a blue wheeled cart for the placement and collection of recyclable material. On the last scheduled day for the collection of garbage, selected households will receive a black wheeled cart for garbage material.

Households will also receive an information kit that contains the following:

  • collection calendar
  • list of acceptable material
  • how wheeled carts are to be placed for collection
  • complimentary clear plastic bags for recyclable material
  • compostable bags for green cart material
  • complimentary garbage bag tags

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