Garbage woes to end by Sunday
It’s clean up time.
Garbage collection delays across the region that have left recycling boxes sitting at the curb for days are expected to be resolved this weekend.
Niagara Region spokesman Darrell Neufeld said contractor Emterra Environmental will have extra crews out Saturday picking up materials that have been missed.
While the company anticipates getting caught up by end of day Saturday, Neufeld said it has a contingency plan for staff to work Sunday if there are remaining materials to pick up.
“We do want to start fresh on Monday morning with a clean slate, back to the regularly-scheduled pick ups,” Neufeld said.
“We’re hoping that the cold weather won’t have too much of an impact on the efficiency of the collection efforts.”
The catch-up crews will be in addition to those out covering regular Saturday and Sunday collection routes.
Neufeld said the majority of the collection delays on Friday were in the west end of the region, particularly in Grimsby and St. Catharines.
By Friday afternoon, Grimsby was a day behind on trash collection and two days behind for recycling box pick up. St. Catharines had no delays for garbage but was a day behind for recycling.
Other municipalities experiencing recycling delays of one day were Lincoln, Pelham and West Lincoln.
The delays are in addition to the special holiday schedule, which pushed back regular collections a day between Dec. 25 to Jan. 5.
Neufeld said anyone who has garbage or recycling that hasn’t been picked up should leave it out until it’s collected.
Niagara has been experiencing garbage pick up delays since the week between Christmas and New Year’s. The issue has been vehicle breakdowns and staffing shortages by Emterra.
As well, the weather has slowed down some trash collection. Neufeld said crews are required to take more frequent breaks when the windchill dips below —25 C.
On Friday, Emterra’s top priority was picking up areas missed on Wednesday, he said. Those municipalities which didn’t have any delays Friday were Thorold, Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Welland, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Wainfleet. kwalter@postmedia.com www.twitter.com/ karena_standard