News Release: Modernized curbside collection is coming to residents of the City of Duncan, the Municipality of North Cowichan, and is expanding to include more material types in the Cowichan Valley Regional District

Published on Feb 7th, 2025

Cowichan Valley, BC

A modernized solid waste curbside collection service is coming to residents living in the City of Duncan, the Municipality of North Cowichan, and Cowichan Valley’s Electoral Areas (CVRD) this spring and summer. In preparation for automated curbside collection and the collection of additional waste categories in some areas, residents are encouraged to check which jurisdiction provides their service. The use of automated curbside collection trucks and collection carts help to reduce repetitive injuries to curbside collection workers and protect them during weather events such as heat waves. Residents will also benefit from being able to dispose of larger volumes of material and include yard waste along with food waste in the organics cart. To facilitate the modernization of curbside collection services, residents that currently have service from Duncan, North Cowichan, or the CVRD will be getting new collection carts that will be compatible with the automated trucks. The new carts will be delivered to residents this spring, along with detailed information to help residents adjust to the changes and support successful curbside collection in all areas. To learn more about the modernization of your curbside collection service, see:

Residents should be aware that there are some differences between the curbside programs in Duncan, North Cowichan, and the CVRD. The differences reflect the unique conditions of the existing collection program in each area. For example, North Cowichan’s automated curbside collection program will not immediately include recycling, which will continue to be picked up manually by the recycling contractor. Duncan will change over to a fully automated curbside program, and the CVRD will continue its automated collection program while providing new carts to residents and expanding the service to new electoral areas. CVRD’s new carts will be bear-resistant to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, as this was an important consideration raised during public consultation. Bear-resistant carts will not be provided in Duncan, and North Cowichan will offer bear-resistant carts for an additional fee. Duncan will continue to offer monthly curbside glass collection and the CVRD will provide monthly curbside glass collection later this year. Each area will continue to share updates about their respective curbside programs over the coming months.

A jurisdictional map of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) highlighting areas with curbside collection service changes. The map outlines different regions with color coding: the CVRD Curbside Collection Area in green, the City of Duncan in orange, and the Municipality of North Cowichan in purple. The CVRD boundary is represented by a dashed line. Several towns and communities such as Mill Bay, Cobble Hill, Shawnigan Lake, Youbou, and Chemainus are labeled. A legend in the lower left explains the color codes and boundaries. The map includes a scale bar in kilometers and a north arrow for orientation. The CVRD logo and the title 'Jurisdictions with Curbside Collection Service Changes' are displayed at the bottom.

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Background:

  • Duncan provides curbside collection of household waste to 1,285 households. The City decided to move to automated curbside collection in 2023 when a new garbage truck had to be ordered to replace the existing truck that is at the end of its life. Council decided to order an automated truck after community consultation.
  • North Cowichan provides curbside collection to about 10,000 households. The move to automated collection was made in 2022 following public engagement and the need to purchase new garbage trucks.
  • The CVRD provides curbside collection to about 14,200 households. The decision to move to automated three-stream (garbage, recycling, comingled yard and food waste) collection was informed by the regional Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). Three-stream curbside collection is one of the key strategies to reduce waste disposal of the SWMP.
  • Some of the benefits of automated curbside collection include:
    • Reduces injuries to collection workers
    • Opportunity for a more diverse pool of workers as a result of eliminating manual curbside collection
    • A more efficient and climate-resilient service
    • Larger recycling and organic carts
    • The inclusion of yard waste in the organic carts.

Brian Murphy
Director, Public Works & Engineering
City of Duncan
T: 250.746.6126
E: bmurphy@duncan.ca

Barb Floden
Manager, Communications and Public Engagement
Municipality of North Cowichan
T: 250.746.3156
E: communications@northcowichan.ca

Kris Schumacher
Manager, Communications & Engagement Cowichan Valley Regional District
T: 250.746.2635
E: communications@cvrd.bc.ca

Last updated on: Feb 7th, 2025
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