Have you noticed more than one collection truck going past your house lately? Or maybe it appeared one of your bins didn’t get collected? It’s not a mistake! The City has been testing out a dual pass collection system where one truck collects garbage and a second truck collects recycling as opposed to a single truck collecting both into a load separated with a divider. 

There are several advantages to this new system. There is less chance of contamination in the loads (e.g. garbage in the recycling hopper). While the routes for each truck will be longer in the dual pass system, the total distance travelled is significantly less as each truck only needs to tip at one location—either the recycling depot or the landfill—instead of both. They also don’t need to tip as often, which also reduces the total kilometres travelled. Less travel distance is better for the environment, puts less wear and tear on our vehicles, and saves money in maintenance and fuel. 

The dual pass system has been in trial over the course of 2023, leaving a few residents scratching their heads as to why their carts weren’t collected at the same time. No need to call into our Operations Centre—garbage and recycling will both be collected on the same day per the collection calendar, just not necessarily at the same time. The system will eventually be rolled out city wide. Watch for decals on the sides of the trucks indicating which materials they are collecting that day.