WINNIPEG, MB - July 31, 2012 - Starting tomorrow, August 1, 2012, and over the next week, about 24,000 single-family homes in the northwest area will switch from the large metal shared community garbage bins (AutoBins) to the new automated recycling and garbage collection services. Residents will also have a new collection day, which will normally be the same day each week. Recycling and garbage carts will be emptied every week of the year and yard waste will be collected once every two weeks from April to November, on the same day of the week that garbage and recycling carts are emptied.
A six-week program to remove the 5,400 AutoBins began on Wednesday, July 25, 2012. The bins are being recycled in Manitoba.
Each single-family home in the AutoBin area has received:
- one 240-litre garbage cart (holds the equivalent content of about three standard-size garbage bags),
- one 240-litre recycling cart (holds the equivalent content of about four standard-size blue boxes),
- two complimentary compostable, yard waste bags - paper bags are one of the types of acceptable containers for yard waste, along with any reusable container without a lid and cardboard boxes (yard waste in plastic bags will not be collected),
- a user guide with full program details, and
- a calendar highlighting all the collection days until the end of 2013.
Since the AutoBin area residents were scheduled to start their new services two months earlier than all other areas of the city, a notice was mailed in late May to advise residents when they could expect their new carts and the week that their new service would start. The AutoBins were labelled with the start date for their removal.
The new collection services will start the first week of October for residents in all other areas of the city.
These enhanced services, part of a waste minimization strategy approved by City Council in October 2011, are designed to significantly boost Winnipeg’s low diversion rate by providing uniform and equitable garbage collection services for residents, with more opportunities to reduce and recycle. With a current diversion rate of only 15 per cent (one of the lowest in Canada), it is expected that Winnipeggers could reduce the amount of material that goes to our landfill by more than 50 per cent.
Residents with a smartphone or tablet can now get instant access to information on Winnipeg’s garbage and recycling services right at their fingertips with the new My Waste app, including:
- garbage, recycling and yard waste collection days,
- Christmas tree depot locations,
- special events (e.g., giveaway weekend dates),
- Brady Road Resource Management Facility (Brady Landfill) hours of operation,
- recycling depots, and
- how to safely dispose of materials that require special handling and aren’t eligible for weekly collection services (e-waste, hazardous waste).
Residents can download the free app by visiting:
- winnipeg.ca/mywaste
- Apple or Android app stores
Residents can also get information on Winnipeg’s garbage and recycling services:
- by visiting winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste
- by contacting 311, open 24 hours every day, by phone at 311 or by email at 311@winnipeg.ca
For a map of the AutoBin area and collection days for the new services, please visit
winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/garbage/newCollection/services.stm