April 3 marks one month since the Region of Waterloo began its new waste collection system, with residents rolling those large green and black bins down to the curb each week.
Deanna Dakin, Supervisor of Projects and Policy, Waste Management Division told 570 NewsRadio “We’re seeing improvement week over week.”
“Things have improved each week since we started in the first week of March,” she said. “Our crews are getting used to the new technology. Our residents are getting used to their new collection day and placement of the carts.”
Regional staff at the recent KW Home & Garden Show heard “so many positive comments from residents,” notably how they only have to wheel one cart to the curb instead of carrying three cans.
She said some residents spoke about how they only wheel down a cart when it’s full, or how they like to put the black cart for garbage and the green cart for organics on opposite sides of their driveway.
Dakin said the Region is entering day-by-day collection now as people get used to the changes.
The launch of the new collection system on March 3 was plagued with problems including workers not being familiar with the new equipment, with mechanical arms on new collection trucks to lift and dump the carts.
There were new pick-up routes to learn as well, with extra shifts on a Saturday to get the routes done, and extra trucks brought in from other cities.
Some streets in Waterloo Region have not had their carts picked up until days after the collection was supposed to happen.