Garbage pickup won't occur throughout the mid Island region for a few more days. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

delayed service

Snow & ice build-up further delays curbside collection throughout mid Island

Jan 1, 2022 | 5:17 AM

NANAIMO — Garbage trucks aren’t expected to serve the Nanaimo AND Oceanside regions until after the weekend.

The City of Nanaimo furthered delayed curbside collection to Tuesday, Jan 4, while the RDN hopes its trucks can be back on Monday, however solid waste manager Larry Gardner isn’t convinced that will happen.

Gardner said their many steep and narrow roads still covered in snow and ice makes picking up garbage and recyclables challenging and in many cases unsafe.

“The garbage trucks wouldn’t even be able to negotiate, so it’s really not practical to provide service under these conditions.”

While hypothetically the RDN’s contractor could be positioned to handle the service following significant snow events, he said it would be cost prohibitive, citing much higher insurance as one factor.

grave theft

'It's a senseless act:' over a dozen memorial vases stolen from Cedar cemetery

11h ago

fire bans

Campfires still permitted across Vancouver Island over May long weekend

16h ago

lucky streak continues

Nanoose Bay woman claims $500k lotto win

18h ago

Gardner said some of the hundreds of people to call the RDN this week about postponed curbside pickup have been hostile to their staff.

“I’m actually shocked by the veracity of some of the people that are phoning and the abusive language they’re using toward our staff because their garbage collection has been delayed.”

The RDN is responsible for curbside collection at single family addresses between Cedar and Deep Bay with the exception of the City of Nanaimo, which performs the service in-house.

Gardner said people can phone the RDN to get set up on an automated phone or email alert system for the status of their curbside collection.

A City of Nanaimo service notice stated residents can put out extra garbage and recycling as part of their next collection pick-up.

Curbside collection schedules from the RDN and City of Nanaimo are also provided online and through an app.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW