The City of Richmond has launched a new mobile phone app that will, among other things, send reminders to take out the trash.
The app launched this week as the city sets off to deliver roughly 40,000 new, black garbage carts from now until March 21, as part of a new bi-weekly collection routine.
The free app — Richmond Collection Services — is found online at the Apple and Play stores, and will send a reminder at 6 p.m., the day before garbage and recycling collection, to put your cart on the curb.
Furthermore, the “Recycle Wizard” app function will allow residents to search any item to find out where to put it. So, a plastic package goes in the blue bin, a diaper goes in the garbage, a glass jar goes in the grey bin and an apple core goes in the green cart. There are also directions for more obscure products. For instance, the app will direct you to UsedOilRecycling.com to find one of 13 locations that takes motor oil. The app will tell you that something such as a mattress can be one of four large items the city will pick up for free from the curb on an annual basis.
Delivery of the carts began on Monday and bi-weekly garbage pick-up will be in full swing come April.
In order to avoid any confusion during the transition, the city is attaching information brochures to each cart as it’s delivered. As well, residents will receive five complimentary garbage tags for extra garbage.
Residents have already been given the opportunity to choose the size of their new garbage carts, each of which have an applicable fee.
A household will pay as much as $196 per year for using a 360-litre cart, and as little as $83 per year for an 80-litre cart.
Each cart will have a designated code assigned to it, so if you want to switch sizes at a later date, you must do so via the city, in order to avoid incorrect charges.
The city’s fleet and environmental programs manager, Suzanne Bycraft, said about 75 per cent of residents chose the 240-litre cart (default), while five per cent decided on the 360-litre one; Ten per cent chose 80-litre carts, while another 10 opted for the 120-litre option.
The changeover will cost about $2.6 million and comes after residents have, over recent years, adjusted to new green cart and blue box recycling methods that have led to 70 per cent waste diversion across the city.
Moving to bi-weekly garbage collection is projected to increase waste diversion by five to eight percentage points.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the goal, as outlined by Metro Vancouver, is to achieve 80 per cent waste diversion by 2020.
“Very little of our household waste actually needs to go in the garbage,” said Brodie.
However, plastic bags continue to be excluded in recycling services. Brodie said plastic bags can only be recycled at the city’s recycling depot on Lynas Lane.
Brodie noted residents can take their old cans to Lynas Lane, or keep them for extra garbage, when needed.
While collection is only once every two weeks, it will take longer for the new carts to be unloaded by the curb and the city’s contractor, Sierra Waste, will also be spending more time collecting recyclables. Ergo, the change in operations is said to be close to revenue neutral.
Other cities, including Vancouver, Surrey and New Westminster, have already made the shift to bi-weekly garbage collection.
Last year, Coun. Alexa Loo opposed the bi-weekly plan, stating people preferred weekly pick-up. Coun. Bill McNulty also opposed the plan on grounds that there wasn’t enough consultation.
