The new waste collection system that was set up to serve the people of Edmonton is facing new challenges each day. Many residents say the bins they were allotted are too small for the waste they generate.
Most single dwellings in the area were allotted 240L black bin for the regular waste, which is then collected every fortnight. Each household was given the freedom to choose a 120-L black bin.
Also, each household was provided with a 120-L green bin for organic waste, the waste disposal service picks each week in summer, spring and fall or every two weeks during Winter.
Cassia Budinski, a resident of Ozerna northeast community, whose household has 8 members stated it has been difficult for her to fit a week’s worth of waste into a 240-L bin. In two instances, the collection service crew failed to empty a bin because she had forced waster into the bin causing some to get stuck at the bottom.
Currently, she is on a list of those to receive 360-L bins the city is providing households with 7 of more members.
Other families are encountering the opposite of what Cassia has been going through. Thomas Ferleyko, the owner of a central Edmonton fourplex that has one person in each unit says that combines, the four barely produce enough waste to fill a single black bin in each cycle.
However, the city provided four green bins and four black ones, most of which sit unused most of the time.
Each bin is billed $47.22 monthly, he added. The city said that the cost might go up to $48.32 for those with a 240-L cart. He went on to say he is content with the garbage collection itself, but would like to see bill adjustments based on waste generated in each household.
Gord Cebryk, who managed the city’s operations, stated they will evaluate how garbage collection works next spring and make changes as necessary.
