THUNDER BAY — Less than one-quarter of city households will be involved in the first stage of the rollout of wheeled garbage carts starting next month.
Residents of several neighbourhoods around the city, totalling approximately 9,000 homes, will receive the 240-litre carts well ahead of implementation, which is scheduled for the week of Sept. 22.
As the city points out in letters already distributed to participating households, the bins are not to be used until that week.
"If you didn't get a letter, you're not part of the phased rollout," said Jason Sherband, manager of solid waste and recycling services for the city.
Carts will be distributed to the remaining 31,000 single-family residences next spring, by which time all 10 of the new trucks the city has ordered will be in service.
"It's a soft launch, if you will," Sherband said, adding that this will allow time to work through any issues before the entire city transitions to the new system.
"That actually works in our favour, because we can sort of learn lessons along the way. The city is used to the recycling side of things with carts, but the garbage side is new. We can learn the successes and challenges, and apply them and change course if need be into the full rollout in 2026."
The city is turning over its entire fleet of waste collection trucks in favour of vehicles with automated arm mechanisms, similar to the trucks GFL uses for picking up recycling bins.
Sherband said the older trucks are already at the end of their projected service life.
The replacements have a split body, meaning they will be able to collect household garbage on one side and organics on the other once the city implements a green bin program for organic waste later in 2026.
In advance of the first-stage rollout next month, city staff have done extensive work in the field to determine where logistical challenges may exist.
"There may be some homes that move to lane collection that are on the curb right now...we've got a pretty good idea with these 9,000 households as to what we're up against," Sherband said.
"If there are issues in terms of somebody physically not being able to get the cart where it needs to be for some reason, just like GFL did we would be working with those residents."
