In June 2024, Halifax Regional Council directed staff to move forward with the development of a Garbage/Organics Automated Cart Based Collection Implementation Plan as part of Phase 2 the Solid Waste Strategy Review UPDATE.
Cart-based collection of waste is an emerging trend across Canada. Reasons for adopting a cart-based program are typically related to health and safety considerations, modernization of collection infrastructure, citizen satisfaction (e.g., ease of use, storage) and protection from animals/birds and associated litter. Labour shortages have also been a driving factor, as cart-based programs are typically implemented with automated collection which reduces labour requirements.
A decision whether to move in this direction is best made to align with the start of curbside collection contracts and include time for procurement and distribution of carts and collection vehicles. Contracts are typically signed on a five-year cycle with two optional years. The current collection contracts expire in June 2026 (2028 including an extension).
The purpose of this survey is to gauge public interest and support, and to identify gaps in the information that has been provided. The feedback from this survey will be included in a report to Regional Council in Spring of 2025, who will use the input to make an informed decision about implementing the cart-based collection system.
Cart-based collection for recycling (i.e., blue carts) is not part of this current evaluation. Under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the delivery of curbside recycling collection will shift from the municipality to the producers of blue bag material, commencing in December 2025. Any changes to recycling collection will be at the discretion of that organization.
