Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Thousands of Ottawa households will face a nearly three-week gap between garbage and recycling pickup as the city moves to a new curbside collection contract.
As the new contract starts March 30, updates to schedules mean some homes will have their waste collected two weeks in a row, while others will have to wait up to 17 days for collection. Green bin collection will continue on a weekly basis.
The delay in collection would be a one-off, according to Andrea Gay Farley, the program manager for waste collection at the City of Ottawa, who said approximately 80,000 households would be affected.
To offset any inconvenience, households may place up to six garbage items at the curb on collection day between March 30 and April 24.
“We know that changes to collection schedules can be an adjustment,” she said in a statement to CBC, adding that the changes were explained in a letter sent to households.
The new collection schedules are also available online.
Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo says his ward is among those where residents will face collection delays.
“Some people are annoyed, but generally because it’s still going to be fairly cool and because we’re temporarily increasing the limit to six items, the anger is not widespread,” he told CBC. “It certainly is an inconvenience, but most residents have said that they’ll live with it.”
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante said Sandy Hill could be particularly impacted due to the neighbourhood’s high number of students.
“They’re not that great about their garbage,” Plante told CBC, saying she had proposed to the city that she would pay for a bin in the neighbourhood to allow people to drop garbage at any time during the transition period.
“Because the only people who will benefit from not having garbage pickup for two weeks are racoons and rats,” she said. “And we don’t want that.”