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Officials pleased with garbage, recycling overhaul

City says first day going well

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/1/2012 5:17 PM | Comments: 0

An Emterra garbage collector uses a stick to raise wire so the new garbage truck could clear in rear lane of Elm Street in River Heights. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

City officials say the first day of Winnipeg's garbage and recycling overhaul is going well.

This morning, Winnipeg switched over from manual garbage collection to new automated garbage and recycling carts. Residents now have a set day of the week for their garbage and recycling collection, instead of the old cycle system.

Winnipeg's solid waste manager Darryl Drohomerski said 37,000 city residents will have their trash, recyclables and yard waste picked up today. This week, a total of 190,000 Winnipeg residents will use the automated carts.

So far, Drohomerski said he hasn't heard of any major problems with the garbage collection. He said the city's 311 hotline has received calls from about 50 residents across Winnipeg who have not yet received their automated carts.

Drohomerski said Winnipeg also fielded a number of calls from residents who were confused about their collection day. A number of homes in St. James put their trash out for collection, he said, since today would have been their collection day under the old cycle system.

"There's a few little things, hiccups here and there," Drohomerski said. "For the first day, everything looks pretty good."

The changeover comes one year after city council approved a garbage and recycling master plan that aims to improve the city's dismal trash-diversion rates. Only about 15 per cent of all waste is diverted away from landfills and the move is expected to increase the diversion rate to more than 50 per cent over the next decade.

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