Project: City of Edmonton Waste Strategy: Multi-Unit Strategy
Project
The IDEA Policy Committee is currently working to achieve more flexibility in waste management for small- to medium-scale residential and mixed-use developments.
What is the problem?
IDEA members have noted that Edmonton's current Waste Strategy has led to difficulties in site design because of the City's fleet of large garbage trucks and the space required for the truck to access the site which is creating challenges on infill sites that are smaller in size. They have also noted that due to the weight of the trucks, concrete curbs are having to be repaired multiple times a year. These difficulties are likely to be worsened unless dealt with pro-actively as the City transitions to a three-stream waste collection for multi-unit housing.
Currently, all residential waste is required to be collected by the City, but commercial waste must be picked up by private waste companies. This means that mixed-use developments cannot solely use private companies for waste collection, and must accommodate separate bins and separate services for the collection of residential and commercial waste. This results in significantly more space used for waste collection and has created an unnecessarily complicated site planning and site servicing.
What is the solution?
IDEA is collaborating with the City and other stakeholders to allow for more flexible waste collection solutions for small- to medium-scale residential and mixed-use developments, as the Multi-Unit Waste Strategy is updated. Potential solutions include removing barriers for mixed-use development infill sites by providing flexibility in who and how waste is picked up, prioritizing the update of the Waste Storage Guidelines and Access Management Guidelines. IDEA will be speaking at the March 25, 2022 Utility Committee meeting where the City Administration will present an update on the Waste Strategy and a report regarding the business model for waste collection.
March 2022