Delta’s Large Item Pick-up Program, which replaces the city’s popular Spring Clean Up this year, begins today.
The new program, which came into effect Monday (March 1), allows all residences that receive curbside garbage collection to dispose of up to four large household items per year via curbside pick-up.
Council voted unanimously to implement the new program in a closed meeting on Jan. 11, after the city was forced to cancel Spring Clean Up for the second straight year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by city staff, Delta’s trash collection contract with Remple Disposal provides the option to implement a large item pick-up program as an alternative to Spring Clean-Up. The new program will cost approximately $150,000 more per year than Spring Clean-Up, which has been accounted for in the city’s proposed 2021 solid waste budget.
“Some operational cost savings in 2021 would likely be recognized, as illegal dumping incidents and costs typically spike around Spring Clean-Up each year,” the report notes.
Large item pick-ups can be scheduled by emailing Remple at largeitempickup@rempledisposal.com or by calling 604-835-1792. For pick-ups scheduled by email, residents are asked to include photos and detailed descriptions of their items.
Remple Disposal will then contact residents to schedule a date for curbside pick-up, which does not follow the same schedule as weekly garbage collection services, and items must be placed curbside no later than 7 a.m. on the scheduled day.
Household items accepted as part of Delta’s large item pick-up program are the same as Spring Clean-Up — bulky household items, furniture and scrap metal items — and all items that can be recycled will be. A detailed list of accepted items is posted at delta.ca/services/garbage-recycling/large-item-pick-up.
Of note, mattresses and box springs — which have not been included as part of Spring Clean-Up since the region banned them from being disposed of as garbage in 2012 — will now be accepted and taken to the Vancouver Landfill for recycling at no cost.
The Large Item Pick-Up Program is not currently scheduled to continue after 2021, however staff will be evaluating and reviewing the community’s feedback on the program and will report back to council later this year. Council will then vote on reinstating Spring Clean Up for 2022.
Delta’s annual Spring Clean-Up began in the early 1960s and is the only one remaining in Metro Vancouver. The popular program allows residents to place up to a pickup truck-size load of extra garbage and scrap metal at curbside for collection once a year.
Spring Clean-Up was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading many residents to ask the city for an alternative program to assist with the collection of large items.
SEE ALSO: Barrels of fuel to children’s toys: B.C. shoreline cleanup nets 127 tonnes of marine debris
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