Curbside collection disrupted for thousands of mid-Islanders

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Aftermath of a severely damaged Waste Connections of Canada curbside recycling transfer hub on on Springhill Rd. in rural Parksville. (Image Credit: Submitted image)

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As a result of the fire, recycling and organic-specific curbside pick-ups are impacted in the central and northern areas of the RDN’s waste collection system from Lantzville northward, Routledge said.

For the time being, Routledge said customers can expect unpredictable service delays.

“Residents that do end up getting missed collections, we’ll waive those fees at either our Church Rd. Transfer Station or the Regional Landfill; all they’ll need to do is identify their address, they’ll automatically load into the system and their fees will be waived.”

The RDN works with private firm Waste Connections of Canada, where the rural Parksville fire took place.

The company also has a facility handling RDN organic waste and recycling products on Nanaimo’s Tenth St.

Routledge said the indefinite elimination of its northern facility puts the RDN in a difficult position.

“Because our collection drivers are all commercially licensed operators they have a maximum allowable drive time each day, so we’re anticipating some areas of collection routes are not going to be collected daily.”

Identifying an alternative transfer site or finding a solution on the existing Springhill Rd. property is actively being explored, Routledge said.

The RDN collects curbside garbage, recycling, and organic materials from about 30,000 households weekly with the use of 10 collection trucks.

Routledge estimates in the range of 20,000 households are impacted by the service disruption, with over 700 households experiencing some form of impact daily.

He said the RDN is communicating curbside service alerts on its website (where the RDN Curbside app can be accessed), as well as its social media channels.

Smoke billows from the Waste Connections of Canada facility, located near the RDN’s Church Rd. Transfer Station. (Image Credit: Submitted image)

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