The Cowichan Valley Regional District curbside recycling and garbage collection service will temporarily add a Saturday collection day for some areas.
The district has experienced significant disruptions over the last three months with its collection services due to mechanical issues with its aging trucks.
“We know that the service interruptions have been very frustrating for residents, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide a reliable service to the community,” said Doug Stevens, the CVRD’s manager of solid-waste operations.
Two new curbside trucks have been ordered by the CVRD but, due to supply chain issues, they will not arrive until 2024.
In the meantime, the CVRD is planning to add a Saturday collection day for some areas to allow the older trucks to have more repair and maintenance time.
“Truck maintenance staff is being added and we have also been working to secure a rental truck, but there are few available and those that exist are rented by organizations that suffer the same supply challenges,” said Stevens.
Adding Saturday collection will reduce the size of some of the current collection routes to ensure that a spare truck is available for backup.
“This will also affect some existing curbside routes that will have new pickup days,” said Stevens.
Leah Berscheid, the district’s environmental technologist, said starting in December, some customers will have Saturday pick-up and other customers will have their weekday pick-up date altered.
She said all customers will have ample notification of these changes to the collection schedule.
Residents can also download the Cowichan Recycles app to receive notices for curbside disruptions and any schedule adjustments for their address.
The app will send service alerts and schedule reminders directly to mobile devices, land lines, and email to ensure residents get information about any changes in service as soon as possible.
Visit the district’s garbage and recycling services webpage at www.cvrd.ca for more information.