The Halifax Regional Municipality is currently seeking input on the possibility of implementing cart-based garbage collection. A survey has been launched and will remain open for responses until December 20th.

If the program moves forward, it would operate similarly to the existing green bin compost collection system. Each household would receive a black bin for their garbage, which would be emptied by trucks equipped with hydraulic arms on designated collection days. The bins would then be returned to the curb.

According to the municipality, the decision to explore cart-based collection is primarily driven by considerations related to health and safety, the need for modernizing collection infrastructure, citizen satisfaction (including ease of use and storage), and the prevention of animal and bird-related litter issues.

In addition to these benefits, the municipality also highlighted that automated collection systems require less labor for garbage pickup, which is particularly relevant given current labor shortages.

While Halifax is still in the evaluation phase, other Canadian cities have already successfully implemented automated collection for black bins. For example, St. John’s adopted this system in 2018.

It’s important to note that the survey specifically focuses on black bin garbage collection, and does not include considerations for implementing blue carts for recycling at this time.