The City of Gatineau is preparing to implement several changes to its waste collection. Starting Thursday, May 30, residents will have to change some of their habits, particularly when collecting brown bags.
Gatineau residents will soon see trucks equipped with a robotic arm appear. A way to respond to the labor shortage for the City since only one operator will be needed to operate these machines, rather than with a driver and a garbage collector. Automated collection is already in place in several cities in the province, such as Quebec, Lévis, Longueuil and Laval.
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An automated waste collection truck
Photo: Courtesy City of Gatineau
For residents, however, this will lead to several changes: only wheeled bins with a European plug and bags marked with a surplus garbage label will be accepted during these regular collections. Round trash cans, bags of leaves, American-style wheeled bins, boxes or even branches and any other excess next to the bins will be refused.
The bins must have a closed and unlocked lid and they must be placed without any obstacle in front, with the wheels pointing towards their residence, while allowing a clearance of 60 cm on each of their sides.
Five instructions to remember for the new collection :
- Use the bins distributed by the City (with a European plug),
- The bin lid must be closed and unlocked,
- Do not obstruct access to the bin,
- Leave a space of 60 cm on each side of the bin,
- Orient the bin wheels towards the residence.
Change for green waste
Green waste will still be accepted every week in the brown bin and a compliant bin identified by a V or in permanent and mobile ecocenters.
But in the event of a surplus, five special collections will be organized annually: two in the spring and three in the fall.
Accepted collection methods are paper bags, with a maximum of 20 bags per collection, round bins with handles or wheeled bins identified by a V and bundles of tied branches, with a maximum of five bundles per collection and one maximum of 25 kg per package.
Finally, regarding the collection of bulky items, this will now only work by online registration or on the Dtritus application. But good news: these can be collected more often during the year.
Bulky waste and bulky wood and metal items can be collected at the same time. However, they must have previously registered for the collection. A maximum of four articles (12 for multi-unit accommodation) will be accepted per registration. For buildings with containers, bulky items must be placed next to the garbage container or in another location indicated by the building manager.
The City makes a page of its website available to residents (New window) dedicated to upcoming changes in waste collection.
