THUNDER BAY — Starting July 1, Thunder Bay residents who recycle at curbside must "wheel" their recycled materials to the front of their homes for pickup.
GFL Environmental trucks equipped with mechanical arms to pick up and empty the new 360-litre carts will be deployed to your street on your usual recycling day.
The split-body carts require residents to place cardboard and paper on the side with the grey lid, and recycled containers on the side with the blue lid.
The changeover from blue bags comes in conjunction with a province-wide regulatory change that shifts responsibility for municipal recycling programs to the producers of paper products and packaging.
There is no change to collection days, frequency of collection, existing recycling depots or the list of acceptable recyclable products.
Circular Materials, the administrator of the collection system in Ontario, has posted a list of guidelines for residents to follow:
- Sort your recyclables before placing them in your recycling cart. Place paper/cardboard materials in your grey lid and containers in your blue lid.
- Flatten and break down cardboard boxes to save space on recycling. If cardboard will not fit in your recycling cart, save it for your next collection day, or place it in bundles (3 ft x 2 ft x 1 ft) broken down flat & tied with string or rope, beside your recycling cart.
- Clean materials before recycling. Make sure containers are free of food, liquid, and residue before placing them in the blue lid.
- Place your recycling cart out by 7 a.m. on your collection day.
- Point the front of the cart towards the street, and point the handles towards your house.
- Place your recycling cart on a flat surface clear of any snow and ice. Place cart at least one metre in front of or beside fences or vehicles.
- Place your cart three feet from garbage.
- If your recyclables don’t fit, save them for your next collection day.
If a cart requires maintenance or replacement, residents are advised to contact GFL at thunderbayrecycling@gflenv.com or 844-870-4351.
GFL and Circular Recycling have stated they will try to accommodate residents with accessibility challenges who may have difficulty handling the carts because of their size.
The City of Thunder Bay is no longer operationally and financially responsible for the blue box/blue bag recycling program, but will continue to provide curbside collection of garbage and leaf/yard waste, as well as recycling collection at city facilities and parks.
In a statement Wednesday, Jason Sherband, manager of the city's solid waste and recycling services program, said: "We're proud of the improvements we have made to the residential blue box recycling program over recent years, and we are pleased to be handing the program over to producers from a place of strength."
