Waterloo Region – With the rollout of the new curbside waste changes, Waterloo Region residents have been picking up additional green bins and blue boxes in record numbers.  Unfortunately, due to a surge in last minute demand, the Region is temporarily out of green bins.

Typically, the Region would distribute approximately 6,000 green bins a year.  In 2016, staff distributed over 20,000 green bins, the majority of which were given away at the end of the year.  So far in 2017, staff have given away over 11,000 green bins, in addition to the 3,500 bins delivered to rural residents just added to the program.  The supply is currently exhausted.

“The demand for green bins is very encouraging and we are very excited that so many residents decided to start using the program before the changes took effect,” said Jon Arsenault, Director of Waste Management.  “Unfortunately for our supply, the demand has gotten higher every day as we approached our implementation date, with even greater numbers of residents coming in for bins now that the new services are underway. We gave away over 700 bins on Monday alone.”

As of 2010 when the green bin program was available region-wide, the Region had delivered a green bin to every eligible household.  Some additional demand for green bins was expected with the announcement of the curbside changes, due to breakage or new residents who had not participated in previous years.  In spite of receiving additional emergency loads from the supplier, the Region is temporarily out of green bins.  The Region expects additional shipments of green bins mid-March and early April, however the manufacturer is unable to supply additional bins earlier than those dates. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank everyone for their patience.

Residents looking to get a green bin are encouraged to check the Region’s website at www.regionofwaterloo.ca/wastechanges for updates on green bin availability. A limited number of the large “Containers Only” blue boxes is still available.

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Media contact: Cari Rastas Howard, Project Manager, Waste Management Programs choward@regionofwaterloo.ca, 519-575-4400 ext. 8412