New waste carts set to rollout, changing the way Edmontonians reduce waste

The new City of Edmonton waste bins.

Edmonton — The City is set to start distributing new waste carts later this year at no cost to residents.

Between March and August, residents in all single unit and some multi-unit homes will receive a large garbage cart (240 litres), a regular sized food scraps cart (120 litres) and a small food scraps pail.

If a resident knows they produce less waste, they can request a small garbage cart by Feb. 12. A smaller cart comes with a cost savings of $3.90 per month off the current utility rate.

Some of the new services will include garbage cart collections every two weeks, weekly food scraps collection in spring, summer and fall and every two weeks in the winter.

The carts will be picked up and emptied by an automated arm on the collection truck, instead of by hand.

Blue bag recycling will be gathered weekly with no volume limit. Plus, there will be two seasonal yard waste collections in spring and fall.

In the past, Edmontonians have expressed passion for waste management through public engagement.

“The Edmonton Cart Rollout charts a clear path forward for transformational change for our City and will help us get closer to our overall waste reduction goals.” Jodi Goebel, Director, Waste Strategy said in a news release.

The goal is to reach close to 65 per cent single-unit residential waste diversion by 2023 in an effort to modernize Edmonton’s waste management system, help keep utility rates stable and improve collectors’ safety.

The transition to the new system was earmarked in the city’s 2019-22 capital budget estimated at $52 million.

Edmontonians can find their cart delivery period, first collection day and new sorting information online or through the WasteWise app. Residents can also apply for the Secondary Suites Cart Sharing program between Jan. 20 and Feb. 12.