If you’ve been holding onto old household items because they won’t fit into your garbage cart, your chance to clear it out is right around the corner. The City of Portage la Prairie is launching its first bulky waste pickup next week, giving residents a chance to put large household items on the curb for collection.
The new program comes as part of the city’s transition to the waste cart system, which replaced the old $2 garbage tag method last month. Jocelyn Lequier-Jobin, director of operations, says this pickup is designed to fill the gap.
“Since we've switched systems, we came up with this plan to do a week every quarter of 'bulky waste' so that all the things that don’t fit inside of your waste cart you can put out on the curb and get picked up,” she explains.
The first bulky waste week begins Monday, September 22, and will run on residents’ regular garbage collection day.
What can't be put out
While the program is designed to accommodate most oversized household items, there are a few key exceptions.
“Most things that are under 100 pounds you can put out,” she adds. “Though there are a few things that we have listed on our website that are on the 'no' list. Auto parts, for instance, and construction waste shouldn’t be going in there either.”
Additionally, electronics and recyclables should be taken to the appropriate depots instead.
“If it’s recyclable, we’d encourage you to take it to the recycling depot. As for electronics, there’s the e-waste drop-off. That’s the best place for things like TVs and computers because all the different parts inside of them are better suited to recycling than going into the landfill,” she notes.
Timing is everything
Following the same rules as regular waste collection, residents are asked to put out items the evening before their regular garbage day.
“We’d prefer if people didn’t start putting things out too early because it tends to get messy if everything is sitting out for too long," she continues.
If you miss this pickup, don’t worry, the next round is already planned for December, just in time for post-holiday cleanups.
Lequier-Jobin says the city is looking forward to seeing how the first run goes.
“I’m imagining that it’ll be new for people, so there will be a bit of a learning curve. We’re just going to see how it works, and if we see anything that can be improved, then we’ll try to implement those changes for the next one.”
With garbage carts already part of the routine, this quarterly pickup is set to become another fixture of city life, helping residents keep their homes and the community a little tidier.
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