Waste Cart Spot Checks - Dover and Penbrooke Meadows
Waste & Recycling Services routinely conducts waste cart spot checks to make sure the right items are going into the right carts, provide direct education to households, and lower contamination rates.
In the past, checks have been unannounced, however after feedback from Calgarians and following the lead of other municipalities, The City of Calgary is piloting a program that provides advanced notification to residents prior to doing cart checks.
Beginning August 12th, spot checks in the following two Ward 9 communities will begin:
Dover
Penbrooke Meadows
Residents will see sandwich boards displayed in the community, and will receive a notice form the City of Calgary in their mailbox in advance of August 12.
How Spot Checks Work
Residents in your area may see contractor staff working in pairs looking inside of bins. The staff will:
Open the lid to look inside the bin.
If needed, staff will use a sorting stick to have a better visual of the cart content.
Staff will look for obvious hazardous or unacceptable materials such as a propane tank in the recycling or plastic bags in the compost.
If an incorrect item is spotted:
A notice tag is left on the cart to let the resident know about the incorrect item.
The cart may also be left uncollected so the resident can fix the issue (e.g. remove the contamination item, properly prepare the materials etc) before their next collection day.
To show the resident what incorrect items are in the cart, the spot checker may remove the incorrect item(s) from the cart and place inside a City of Calgary “unacceptable items” bag. The clear bag containing the incorrect item(s) and a notice tag will be attached to the cart handle. The cart will be left uncollected as the resident will need to resolve all of the issues before the next collection day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did I receive this notification? (service alert, sandwich board etc.)
Your neighborhood is taking part in the bin spot check program. This means City contractor/staff will be looking inside of bins on pickup day to make sure the right items are inside.
Why does The City do spot checks?
Most Calgarians do a good job sorting their waste, but the number of wrong items put in the blue and green carts has increased in recent years. This contamination in the carts results in:
risks to staff safety
increased processing time and sorting challenges at the recycling/composting facilities
increased program costs
The purpose of the cart spot check program is to reduce the overall amount of contamination in the blue and green carts.
Why are you notifying people ahead of time for this year’s program?
This is a test run to see how advanced notification might help households out if they get a heads up about the program ahead of time. We received some feedback from residents in previous years that they wished they had known we were coming ahead of time so they could fix their mistakes sooner. We also have seen that in some other municipalities, they provide advanced notification for their spot check program.
Will all communities get notified ahead of time?
Normally, we do not provide any advanced notice we are checking bins. This year, we are testing out advanced notification in two communities, Penbrooke Meadows and Dover.
What if I am concerned about privacy and sensitive information in my bins?
When staff look in the cart they:
Do not open bags
Do not record personal information like mailing addresses, email addresses etc.
You can shred documents containing sensitive information and put them in a clear bag for proper recycling.
What if a neighbour uses my carts inappropriately?
If you are concerned about others using your carts, you can take steps to prevent misuse:
Keep your carts on your private property (shed, garage, inside backyard etc) on non-pickup days
Only put your carts out on collection day and then put away again after the carts have been emptied.
If you are aware of illegal dumping occurring near your property, please contact 311 to report the issue.
Will I get fined if something wrong is found in my cart during a spot check?
The priority is to educate Calgarians to improve sorting habits, not to hand out fines. If residents are able to improve their recycling/composting so there is less unacceptable material in the carts, then there is no need to fine.
Make sure you know what is allowed and not allowed in your carts. Information can be found online at:
calgary.ca/bluecart
calgary.ca/greencart
calgary.ca/blackcart