Some Ottawa residents are bracing for a nearly month-long gap between garbage collection days in March and April as the city transitions to its new waste collection schedule.

Approximately 80,000 households across the city will experience a one-time increase in the number of days between garbage collection days throughout the transition, according to the city.

Under the city’s new curbside collection contract, garbage collection days will be changing for about half of all Ottawa residents as of March 30. Changes are being made to “reflect current service needs and growth across the city.”

“The new contract balances collection days with the number of households and required service levels to ensure reliable and efficient waste collection for residents,” Andrea Gay Farley, the city’s program manager of waste collections, wrote in a statement.

For some households in neighbourhoods including Vanier and Sandy Hill, the transition means they’ll experience a one-time 26-day gap between garbage collections — that’s 12 days longer than the current schedule gap, where the city collects garbage every two weeks.

For example, in parts of Vanier where garbage collection day traditionally fell on Mondays, the last collection day under the current contract is scheduled for March 16. Collection days will then be shifted to Fridays under the new contract, with the next garbage collection scheduled for April 11 (it’s been moved back to a Saturday due to the holiday “push day” in effect for Easter Monday).

To help residents accommodate the transition, the city says residents may place up to six items at the curb on scheduled garbage collection days any time between March 30 and April 24 without the need to purchase yellow bags. Usually, residents are limited to a three-item maximum.

“We know that changes to collection schedules can be an adjustment. A letter was sent to all households that receive curbside collection to provide details about the new schedule and to help residents know what to expect during the transition,” Gay Farley wrote.

The city did not indicate if it would consider amending collection schedules for residents experiencing the prolonged gap.

However, for Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante, the city’s accommodation of allowing extra items on the curb is not enough of a solution for the three-week interruption some residents will experience.

“This does not address the reality that many residents simply do not have the space to store garbage for three weeks while it accumulates,” Plante wrote in an email to the Ottawa Citizen.

“I have asked staff to explore a temporary solution, such as placing large garbage bins at central locations like community centres so residents would have a place to drop off waste during this period,” she added. “I am currently waiting to hear back from staff about whether this can be arranged.”

For some residents planning to travel during March break, the gap between garbage collection days may be even longer.

For Vanier resident Stephanie Hyde, the last garbage day under the current collection schedule falls while her family plans to be out of town. As a result, garbage bags may pile up in her household for more than a month.

“It’s just a big pain,” she told the Ottawa Citizen. “It doesn’t make sense why they would do this over March break, because I’m sure several people go away, making (the gap between collections) even longer.”

One silver lining about the timing, she said, is that temperatures won’t yet be warm enough for the garbage to start smelling and attract animals, as it would during the summer.

Throughout the transition, Plante encourages residents to make use of the city’s composting program to collect food waste.

“Organic waste is often what causes garbage to smell the most, and green bin collection will continue weekly during this transition,” she wrote.

While garbage and recycling pickup are now managed by different contracts, the city previously confirmed garbage and green bin collection would continue to align with recycling pickup, so residents will only have one day per week when they will put out their waste.

This will also be the last year that residents will receive paper-based collection calendars by mail. As of 2027, the city will implement a digital model where residents can receive email or telephone reminders and access a calendar through a mobile app.

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