New garbage pickup pilot begins this week for parts of Calgary

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Residents of the Northwest and some Southwestern Calgary communities may notice bright green garbage trucks in place of the city’s usual white trucks as a mixed-service pilot project begins this week.

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The City Council has approved a seven-year pilot program to compare private sector service delivery with public sector service delivery, and in 2020 will begin accepting submissions from businesses wishing to undertake the work.

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GFL Environmental won the deal in 2021 to provide up to 25% of the city’s black cart pickup service starting Tuesday.

“The requirements and pickup schedule for the Black Cart Program will not change. So everything will be exactly the same, including cart placement, acceptable and unacceptable items,” says Elias Tomaras, Project Manager at Waste and Recycling Services. said.

“Probably the only thing most people should notice is that it will be a bright green truck, a GFL truck, instead of a city white truck.”

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The City will continue to offer green and blue cart services during the pilot. There are no changes to the Black Cart service other than the truck that picks up the trash. Residents may contact 311 with any questions or comments regarding black carts, even if they live in an area where GFL has taken over service.

The pilot includes 41 regions from Panorama Hills to Valley Ridge. It continues south to Discovery Ridge and includes the Ward 6 community bounded by Highway 1 to the north and the Searcy Trail to the east.

It also includes the communities of Ward 4 west and north of Nose Hill Park and some neighborhoods in Ward 3.

Communities were selected based on landfill location and route.

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The pilot was estimated to save the city up to $1 million annually. Savings are reinvested into the Black Cart Program to offset program costs.

At the end of the seven-year project, the Waste and Recycling Service will report to the Council to compare private and public sector service delivery.

According to the city, GFL Environmental was selected for the contract because it was a top rated proponent based on safety, experience, customer service, fleet and price.

“The important thing to remember is that the GFL is expected to remain consistent with the city’s current service levels,” Tomaras said. “What the council wanted was to be able to objectively assess the service delivery of the private and public sectors.”

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He said the GFL is working very closely with the city to ensure the smoothest possible transition.

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