Waste Collection Service Delivery Update

As many residents are aware, we have been experiencing delays and missed collection pick-ups for recycling and yard waste. This has been challenging and the City is very aware of this issue and its impact on residents and has been actively working with regional partners and with our contractor to identify immediate and long-term solutions over the past weeks.

 

Our collections contractor Emterra Environmental has reported staff shortages as the primary factor related to the recent decline in service delivery.

 

As waste collection is an essential core service of the City, we place the highest importance on providing consistent and reliable collections. In response to and to effectively mitigate the negative service impacts resulting from Emterra’s staff shortage, the City will be temporarily redeploying staff from other service areas to support waste collection. The dedication and support of our CUPE employees is greatly appreciated.

 

For the week of August 23rd – 27th please place garbage, recycling and yard waste at the curb on your regular collection day. If recycling or yard waste is missed on your collection day, please leave it at the curb for collection by either Emterra or City staff.

 

In the event of a missed collection, late collection should occur within two business days of the missed collection date. For example, if recycling or yard waste is not picked up Monday, please leave out till Wednesday.

 

We will provide updates and service alerts upon receiving notification of missed routes from Emterra. Sign up for service alerts through the “Courtenay Collects” web app on our Recycling page or as a smartphone app available free of charge from Google Play and the App Store. These handy alerts can come to you by phone, email, text message or through the app.