Automated garbage and organics collection is coming soon to North Cowichan. The aging fleet of garbage trucks needs to be replaced in order to continue to provide curbside collection to the approximately 10,000 homes currently serviced in the community, and they will be replaced with three diesel and one electric truck by 2025.
About automated collection
Automated collection uses mechanical arms to lift and dump bins at the roadside, and better protects the health and safety of employees. Residents will be provided with new wheeled carts that the mechanical arms can lift.
Manual collection of garbage is hard on workers and often causes injury. Protecting the health and safety of employees has been a driving force in other municipalities to change to an automated system, including the Cowichan Valley Regional District, and many other Vancouver Island communities.
With automated collection trucks, a mechanical arm would lift and dump collection carts.
These new trucks require new garbage and recycling carts (currently residents can use any cart they like that meets size/weight requirements) and a new organics bin that are compatible with the mechanical arms.
Along with the improvement to worker health and safety, there are a number of benefits for residents under this new service including:
- New, uniform carts.
- No weight restrictions on waste.
- Opportunity for new services such as roadside yard waste collection, and larger capacity garbage carts to accommodate bigger families (for additional cost).
In February 2024, residents were given an opportunity to upsize their new garbage and organics carts (with additional costs). There will be opportunities to upsize or downsize your cart sizes once the new carts are delivered and the new service rolls out. Learn more about the carts.