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Curbside collection carts to roll out in Courtenay, Comox

The City of Courtenay and Town of Comox are collaborating on a new automated residential collection service launching in January 2024 for residents receiving curbside collection service.
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The City of Courtenay and Town of Comox are collaborating on a new automated residential collection service launching in January 2024. File photo

The City of Courtenay and Town of Comox are collaborating on a new automated residential collection service launching in January 2024 for residents receiving curbside collection service.

The service will use specially designed, easy-to-roll carts with lids. New collection trucks will have mechanical arms operated by a driver inside the truck’s cab. The arms will grab, lift and empty materials, then return carts to the curb.

The city and town will distribute three new wheeled carts to each eligible household before the service starts – one cart for each material, for bi-weekly recycling and garbage, and weekly organics (food and yard waste).

“We are excited about what this means for the city,” Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells said. “By bringing our waste collection service in line with other cities in the province, we will increase efficiency, improve reliability, and reduce the risk of workplace injuries.

“The shift, to automated collection, will have a positive impact on our community and we expect to see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions generated by the collection vehicles as well as increased diversion of materials from our landfill,” Wells added. “This is a critical step towards increasing our diversion targets to 90 per cent of residential, industrial, commercial and institutional waste, including 100 per cent of organic waste, by 2050, as set in our Official Community Plan.”

The shift to automated collection follows a competitive bid process the city and town undertook last summer. Halton Environmental (operating as Emterra Environmental) was awarded the contract to provide three-stream automated curbside collection over a 10-year term.

“We understand it will take time to adjust to a new curbside collection service,” Comox Mayor Nicole Minions said. “This is why we are taking the next several months before the new carts are delivered to increase awareness about the new program and provide regular communication to assist in the transition. The new service offers us one more way to support environmental stewardship: by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Comox and Courtenay are working together with a shared goal of making the transition as easy as possible. Watch for updates and information about the program change throughout 2023 as details are finalized. Visit the Comox and Courtenay websites for an overview of the program along with answers to frequently asked questions.

www.courtenay.ca/carts and www.comox.ca/carts