Winter Impacts on Curbside Collection

Winter weather conditions can pose challenges for curbside collection, from frozen items stuck inside Green Carts, to streets being missed due to wintry road conditions. To help ensure your materials are picked up on collection day, we’ve compiled a few tips.

1. Help make your street and carts accessible.

Cart collection is semi-automated in the Township meaning staff retrieve carts from the curb and move them to the truck for emptying, before returning them to the set out location. Snowfall can hinder crews ability to retrieve and return carts as normal.

To help with collection:

Set out materials the morning of collection rather than the night before, especially if significant snowfall is in the forecast.
Clear snow from your carts and recycling to make them visible. Collection staff are not equipped to dig out materials from snowbanks.
Clear snow from the sidewalk in front of your carts, and if possible, a path to the road to assist with cart retrieval and return.

When possible, park your vehicle on your property. Vehicles edging into the middle of the road or along the sides of cul-de-sacs reduce the turn-around area for collection vehicles. If there is insufficient turn-around space, crews will be unable to access the area to collect materials

Don’t

2. Winter Green Cart Collection

During periods of sub-zero temperatures, moisture rich materials can freeze to the bottom or sides of your Green Cart. Collection staff will attempt collection as normal, however, they are not equipped to dislodge frozen materials. During the winter, if you return home to find some items left behind it may be a result of the items being frozen when collection crews attended your property.

Here are a few ways to help with collection:

Wrap moisture rich materials in compostable material such as newspaper, paper food waste bags, or boxboard (e.g. cereal box) before placing them in your Green Cart.

If possible, store your Green Cart in a location that stays above freezing temperatures.

Place your Green Cart out as close as possible to 7:30am on collection day. This can help avoid materials freezing overnight.
Please note: Any garbage, organics, or recycling for collection must be set out by 7:30am on collection day. Routes may be adjusted to help meet service demands during winter, but trucks will never arrive before 7:30am. Don’t miss collection due to a late set out!

3. Sign up for weekly reminders and service alerts.

Sign up for weekly collection reminders and service alerts by entering your address in our collection calendar widget here. Subscribed properties receive updates on curbside collection in the event of inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

4. Follow Sierra Waste’s blog during weather events.

Updated throughout the day, sierrawaste.ca/blog posts information regarding the areas and collection streams (recycling, organics, garbage) missed. If your area is not listed and you experience a missed pick up, report it at 604-530-3939.

Missed Materials

Collection staff make every effort to collect materials as originally scheduled, however, inclement weather can make some areas unsafe to service, posing risks to residents and/or personal property. While passenger-type vehicles may be able to get in and out of unserviceable areas, collection trucks err on the side of caution as accidents can be more significant.

Missed Recycling

Leave your blue box, yellow bag, and grey box at the curb until the end of the week. Collection crews will return if conditions improve later in the week. Residents can report improved road conditions by calling Sierra Waste Services Ltd. at 604-530-3939.

If recycling has not been collected by the end of the week, please remove your recycling from the road and set it out again on your next collection day. If your recycling containers are full, the use of other containers, such as a Rubbermaid-style bin, will be accepted temporarily during the inclement weather period. Materials must still be sorted when placed in additional bins – one bin for containers, one bin for paper, and one bin for glass bottles and jars. Recyclables set out in plastic bags are not accepted.

Several depots and London Drugs locations also accept the recyclables you normally set out at the curb for free drop-off as part of the Recycle BC program. If inclement weather disrupts curbside recycling collection and you want to recycle these items before the next scheduled collection, consider depot drop-off. See recyclebc.ca for depot drop-off options and more information.

Missed Green Cart

Green Carts are normally collected first in the day, with crews returning to collect garbage after the organics load has been emptied. During severe weather events collection may shift to garbage as a first priority. This may result in Green Cart collection occurring later than normal or being suspended for the week.

The Township will announce if changes to Green Cart collection are occurring during inclement weather. If Green Cart collection has not been suspended for the week and your cart was not emptied, leave your cart out for one additional day. If your Green Cart remains unemptied by the end of the second day please pull it in and set it out again next week

Missed Garbage Cart

Leave your garbage cart(s) and any bags with Extra Garbage Stickers out until they are collected, or you receive further instruction from Township staff. Crews will attempt to access your property as soon as road conditions improve. Residents can report improved road conditions to Sierra Waste Services Ltd. at 604-530-3939.

Public Works
604-532-7300
opsinfo@tol.ca