Regular garbage bag limits set to return next month in Waterloo region
Compost also now available at landfills in Waterloo and Cambridge
People in Waterloo region will need to limit the number of garbage bags or cans starting next month.
As of Oct. 5, homes will be allowed up to four bags or cans, while small apartment buildings will get 10 bags or cans. The region says the change is being made because waste transfer stations are now fully open for residents.
The region had upped the limit to six bags in the spring when the waste transfer stations were closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic locally. The transfer stations reopened in May.
"Collection crews appreciate the support they have received from the community during the COVID pandemic," the region said in a release.
"Residents are reminded to please keep a safe physical distance from all crews and trucks for the protection of the workers and to ensure all regular household garbage is contained in a garbage bag, not loose in a garbage can."
Free compost, bring your own container
People can also now get free compost at the transfer stations in Cambridge and Waterloo. People must bring their own shovels and containers for the compost and can take a maximum of five bushels.
People can pick up free compost until the first snowfall.
"Residents are reminded to practice physical distancing while on-site," the region said.
Kathleen Barsoum is the waste coordinator at the Region of Waterloo Waste Management. She says the compost is yard waste collected in 2019 and earlier in 2020.
They lay the yard waste out in rows and use the ground as "a giant compost pad."
"It will sit there and Mother Nature does the rest," she said. "We screen it and and it's just ready for residential use and it's beautiful."