Automated Curbside Collection

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THE NEW AUTOMATED CURBSIDE COLLECTION SERVICE IS COMING FALL 2020!

The RDN Board has voted to transition to an automated curbside collection service at the end of the current manual service collection contract. The new service will provide RDN residents (except City of Nanaimo residents who already have this great service) with the following:

  1. Improved service offerings
    • Customizable collection cart sizes to best suit your household needs
    • No weight restrictions
    • Improved worker health and safety
    • Improved neighbourhood esthetics by keeping materials contained
    • Reduced human-wildlife interactions
  2. Easy to roll carts with attached lids for convenient and efficient disposal of recyclables, food waste and garbage
  3. Real-time information for better customer service

CLOSED: This survey has concluded as of December 31, 2019. Thank you to everyone that has made their selection; your preferences has been recorded and cart deliveries will commence summer 2020. Please continue to check back for more program updates!

PICK YOUR CART SIZES!

We want to hear from you! You have a choice of cart sizes to best suit your household's disposal needs. We are seeking resident feedback -- from RDN Curbside Collection Service customers -- on your cart size preferences so that you will be delivered your desired cart sizes based on your household needs.

The online questionnairewill be open between September 23, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

If you do not provide your preference by the December 31, 2019 deadline, you will be provided a default set of carts (240L recycling, 100L food waste and 100L garbage).

NEXT STEPS

We will compile all feedback from the online questionnaire to place the cart order. In summer 2020, each RDN residential household (except City of Nanaimo residents) will receive a set of wheeled carts of your preferred cart sizes for recyclables and garbage, and a standard food waste cart. An information package outlining the details of the service will accompany the cart delivery.

The new automated curbside collection service will begin October 2020!

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

  • Please register (tab on the top right corner of this page) to receive notification of news and updates.

  • Visit the documents library for project history and technical information.

  • Do you have a question? Post it below and we will answer for all to see. A great way for all to learn.

  • Want to contact us directly? Contact the project team at zerowaste@rdn.bc.ca or 1-877-607-4111.

Looking ahead: Project updates will be posted on this page monthly and at milestones.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your cart size selection!


THE NEW AUTOMATED CURBSIDE COLLECTION SERVICE IS COMING FALL 2020!

The RDN Board has voted to transition to an automated curbside collection service at the end of the current manual service collection contract. The new service will provide RDN residents (except City of Nanaimo residents who already have this great service) with the following:

  1. Improved service offerings
    • Customizable collection cart sizes to best suit your household needs
    • No weight restrictions
    • Improved worker health and safety
    • Improved neighbourhood esthetics by keeping materials contained
    • Reduced human-wildlife interactions
  2. Easy to roll carts with attached lids for convenient and efficient disposal of recyclables, food waste and garbage
  3. Real-time information for better customer service

CLOSED: This survey has concluded as of December 31, 2019. Thank you to everyone that has made their selection; your preferences has been recorded and cart deliveries will commence summer 2020. Please continue to check back for more program updates!

PICK YOUR CART SIZES!

We want to hear from you! You have a choice of cart sizes to best suit your household's disposal needs. We are seeking resident feedback -- from RDN Curbside Collection Service customers -- on your cart size preferences so that you will be delivered your desired cart sizes based on your household needs.

The online questionnairewill be open between September 23, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

If you do not provide your preference by the December 31, 2019 deadline, you will be provided a default set of carts (240L recycling, 100L food waste and 100L garbage).

NEXT STEPS

We will compile all feedback from the online questionnaire to place the cart order. In summer 2020, each RDN residential household (except City of Nanaimo residents) will receive a set of wheeled carts of your preferred cart sizes for recyclables and garbage, and a standard food waste cart. An information package outlining the details of the service will accompany the cart delivery.

The new automated curbside collection service will begin October 2020!

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

  • Please register (tab on the top right corner of this page) to receive notification of news and updates.

  • Visit the documents library for project history and technical information.

  • Do you have a question? Post it below and we will answer for all to see. A great way for all to learn.

  • Want to contact us directly? Contact the project team at zerowaste@rdn.bc.ca or 1-877-607-4111.

Looking ahead: Project updates will be posted on this page monthly and at milestones.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your cart size selection!


Do you have a curbside collection question for the RDN in regard to this project.  If so, please ask us here.

Q&A

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    What cost

    Catherine booth Asked 6 days ago

    Hi Catherine,

    Your annual curbside collection fee is determined by the garbage cart size you chose. Please refer to table below for rates. 

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    We live in South Nanaimo. Some of our neighbours have received the new automated bins, but we have not. Any idea when the new bins will be dropped off? Thanks,

    Judy Marsh Asked 13 days ago

    Cart are being delivered until September 15th, if you havent received any carts by then, please send us an email at curbside@rdn.bc.ca or call us at 250-390-6501 and we will be able to help you out!

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    I received my new bins the other day. I can't open the green bin at all. It won't unlock. I've even tried turning the lock handle in increments and trying to open at each increment, but it won't open at all. I'll be unable to dispose of compostables properly if I don't get a replacement before October 1...

    FromQB Asked 18 days ago

    Thank you for reaching out! I'm sorry to hear that your having troubles with the lock on your new food waste cart. Please contact our Automated Curbside Collection Hotline at 250-390-6501, or toll free at 1-877-607-4111.

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    I will not be driving my ziploc bags to the nearest city. So do they just go into Garbage? Same thing with glass jars? The grocery stores are the worst, plastic wrap on all the veggies, inside boxes and going back to packing the groceries in plastic!! Where does it all go? Into Garbage I guess........?

    RDN questions Asked 21 days ago

    Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately soft plastics and glass jars are not accepted in your curbside recycling, so your options are to take it to your nearest recycling depot (you can find the closest one to you by using our “What Goes Where” tool), or you can dispose of it as garbage. Of course, our preference is that it gets taken to the depot.

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    Just received our new bins and guide. It is not clear what is allowed and what is not allowed in the black Garbage bin?

    jampot Asked 22 days ago

    Thanks for reaching out! Nothing will change with regards to the new carts and what is accepted in them. As long as everything is confined in the appropriate cart and the lid is closed it will be picked up. 

    Acceptable garbage waste includes things like personal hygiene items, diapers, plastic squeeze tubes, plastic cutlery and straws, to name a few. I encourage you to take a look at our website https://www.rdn.bc.ca/garbage and our "what goes where" tool https://www.rdn.bc.ca/what-goes-where if you are unsure if an item is accepted for curbside collection.

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    I ordered the smallest size bins and have just received the default size. I was unable to save order in print, so have mo proof. How do I get the size I ordered.

    Pat Asked about 1 month ago

    Hi Pat!

    To put in a request to have your garbage cart switched out you can visit our online portal at https://www.rdn.bc.ca/cart-exchange-and-replacement. The portal will not be active until Sept 1, 2020 so you will have to wait until then to put in your request. After you have done this the contractor will contact you letting you know a date and time range that they will be out to exchange your cart. There will be a $50 Administration fee for switching your cart. 

    You may also reach out to one of our representatives on our Automated Curbside Collection Hotline at 250-390-6501, however, please be advised that due to a high volume of calls it may take a few days for someone to respond.

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    The garbage cart is far to small; I would like to exchange it for the 240L size?

    robin wrightson Asked about 1 month ago

    Hi Robin,

    To put in a request to have your garbage cart switched out you can visit our online portal at https://www.rdn.bc.ca/cart-exchange-and-replacement. The portal will not be active until Sept 1, 2020 so you will have to wait until then to put in your request. After you have done this the contractor will contact you letting you know a date and time range that they will be out to exchange your cart. There will be a $50 Administration fee for switching your cart and your annual utility fee will go up to $250 for the 240L garbage cart.

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    How do we dispose of the glass jars? (ie, jam jar, salsa jar, etc) Which container do we put the paper shredding from the printer in?

    Arlene Lessard Asked about 1 month ago

    Hi Arlene,

    Thanks for reaching out! You can take glass jars to your local recycling depot. If you are unsure of where the closest one is to you, you can check out our "What goes where" tool online by going to www.rdn.bc.ca/what-goes-where. 

    As for shredded paper, you can place this in a tied, clear plastic bag beside your blue bin for curbside collection. 

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    I am a sewer and used the "Extra Tag" system to separate fabric with regular garbage. With the "Extra Tag" system terminating what will be the procedure for disposing of material?

    Sharky Asked 3 months ago

    Unfortunately, as of October 1, extra bag tags will no longer be accepted as part of the automated collection program because the new automated trucks will not be able to pick up material that is not inside a standardized cart. However, unused tags will be eligible for refund at the RDN head office, Regional Landfill and Church Road Transfer Station. When you have extra garbage, you can bring it to a collection facility near you (http://www.rdn.bc.ca/what-goes-where), upsize your garbage cart to a 240L if you often have extra garbage, or hold on to the material and put it out on your next garbage collection day.  

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    We are currently able to bundle larger amounts of cardboard from appliance boxes, moving, etc that do not fit in the yellow bags and place them out for pick up. As the recycle depot no longer takes cardboard, and if these occasional larger quantities do not fit in the bins along with other recyclables, how should we dispose of them. Thanks

    Ross Kreye Asked 3 months ago

    All recycling must fit into the cart, so you can break down the cardboard and place it in the cart. Recycle BC, the organization that was responsible for the collection of these materials at Parksville Bottle Depot, is looking for a new collection site in the Parksville area. In the meantime, you can upsize your recycling to a 360L cart, hold on to the extra material when you have it and slowly put it out at the curb, or find an alternate site to take this material to using the 'What Goes Where' tool online www.rdn.bc.ca/what-goes-where  or on our 'RDN Curbside' smartphone app.