File photo (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

TRUCK PROBLEMS

‘A struggle for the next month or so’; City of Kamloops working through waste collection issues

May 28, 2024 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Garbage, recycling and organic waste collection has been hampered across Kamloops through the month of May.

Several zones have received notices of delayed pickups, including Zone 4 which, on Tuesday (May 28), has been asked to keep organic bins out until 7:00 p.m. to ensure they get collected. The issues plaguing the civic operations team have been related to its fleet of trucks and not staffing issues.

“We have acquired six hybrid solid waste vehicles over the last couple of years and there has been a variety of challenges with those. Those have been the new trucks we have acquired to replace the old existing ones. Some of the old ones are getting really high up in hours, so we are seeing those older ones struggling, as well as the new ones for a variety of reasons with that new technology, not necessary the chassis but some of the electronic components as we work through that,” said Kamloops’ Streets and Environmental Services Manager Glen Farrow.

The best tip from Farrow was for Kamloops residents to download the WasteWise app which can notify you of possible delays in your neighbourhood. Farrow admitted the next few weeks could be a struggle for his team as it attempts to implement new solutions for the 3-million carts they need to collect every year.

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“It’s going to be a struggle for the next month or so. My understanding is that the trucks that we did order, over a year go, are still months away,” said Farrow. “And even to line up some rental equipment could be weeks away, so it all depends on what is discovered through these repairs and challenges.”