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Carts Not Collected?

Waste may not be collected if:

  • Carts were not set out by 7:00 am on collection day.
  • Carts were placed too close to obstacles such as parked cars, fences, trees, overgrown vegetation, or other carts.
  • Carts were overfull and the lid was not fully closed. 
  • Carts contained unaccepted items. Not sure what goes where? Use our Waste Wise app.

NOTE: If your carts haven’t been collected yet, check if the Dual Pass Collection System is in effect—garbage and recycling or organics are picked up by separate trucks at different times throughout the day.

How and when to report if your waste was not collected:

  • If your carts were NOT set out on time and therefore not collected at the time the operator was on your street, you can call 250-828-3461 before 11:00 am and we will try to return for a same day pickup. After 11:00 am, our crews will be unable to accommodate a pickup for carts not set out on time.
  • If your carts were set out on time and not collected, please call us at 250-828-3461. If you can call us by 11:00 am, we will do our best to return for a same day pickup, If it is after 11:00 am, our call centre team will advise what we can do. 
  • If the entire street was not collected, please call us at 250-828-3461.
  • Note: GPS travel path data is utilized in our decision making. 

Dual Pass System

Have you noticed more than one collection truck going past your house? Or maybe it appeared one of your bins didn’t get collected? It’s not a mistake! The City has been implementing a dual pass collection system where one truck collects garbage and a second truck collects recycling, as opposed to a single truck collecting both into a load separated with a divider. 

There are several advantages to this system. 

  • There is less chance of contamination in the loads (e.g. garbage in the recycling hopper). 
  • While the routes for each truck will be longer in the dual pass system, the total distance travelled is significantly less as each truck only needs to tip at one location—either the recycling depot or the landfill—instead of both. 
  • They also don’t need to tip as often, which also reduces the total kilometres travelled. Less travel distance is better for the environment, puts less wear and tear on our vehicles, and saves money in maintenance and fuel. 

While the dual pass system has been in place since 2023 (for most zones), some residents may not be aware and may be wondering why their carts weren’t collected at the same time. No need to call into our Operations Centre—garbage and recycling or organics will both be collected on the same day per the collection calendar, just not necessarily at the same time. Look for decals on the sides of the trucks indicating which materials they are collecting that day.