Vision Vancouver promises free city-wide "large item" garbage removal day

"The Garbage Man" musical sequence from the "Trash of the Titans" episode of The Simpsons. (Disney)

Vision Vancouver is jumping into the municipal basics of garbage collection with its new platform promise of a city-wide, large-item removal day.

This would be a free pick-up day, publicly funded by the city, introduced by Spring 2023.

The rationale for this expanded garbage collection service is to reduce the municipal government’s existing costs for deploying City crews to respond to large items discarded in alleys, sidewalks, and other public spaces.

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According to a 2019 Vancity report, illegal dumping is on the rise in Vancouver, with the amount of abandoned trash that city workers were forced to collect from the streets, alleyways, and parks rising by 40% between 2009 and 2016 to 2,465 tonnes. The ad hoc measures of collecting illegal dumping consumed 13% of the City of Vancouver’s annual street cleaning budget. Commonly dumped large items include mattresses, furniture, large kitchen appliances, and electronic goods.

Over the last few years of the pandemic, there has also been a noticeable increase in garbage and strewn large items across the city.

Furthermore, other municipalities such as Delta already have such an annual large-item service.

“The removal of large items is a logistical nightmare for most Vancouver residents – especially for those of us living in apartments, or seniors involving multiple steps that are even harder if people don’t own a vehicle. Junk and furniture removal costs residents money and time,” reads a release.

“As a result, Vancouverites are often stuck living with large items they’d prefer to recycle, or find their alleys full of old mattresses, furniture and other discarded household items.”

Vision Vancouver is fielding three candidates for City Council, including current Park Board commissioner Stuart Mackinnon — who was previously with the Green Party — two candidates for the Vancouver Park Board, and five candidates for the Vancouver School Board. The party does not have a mayoral candidate.

The civic election is scheduled for Saturday, October 15, 2022.

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