I agree wholeheartedly with Bruce Wyder’s letter on Sept. 6 in The Leader (“Surrey’s waste plan ill-conceived”).
There should have been consultation. I have also heard that there are smaller bins for single-family homes.
I phoned the Surrey waste hotline to complain about the size of my carts and to request three smaller bins. I am 4’10” in height and my bins are three feet by three feet.
There are some paper bags in the bottom of one of the carts which I haven’t a hope getting out unless I upturn the bin. I have a handicap and at times I have needed the assistance of my neighbour to get my garbage and recycling to curbside.
There is no way I can handle these bins. The young lady I spoke with was sympathetic with my plight and said they could switch the bins for me to a smaller size and but it would cost me $25 for each bin I exchange.
I understand that the cart sizes are what I specified following the recent mailouts that occurred in late April/early May.
What mailouts? I know I didn’t receive one and from the complaints I’m reading about, many others didn’t receive one.
My neighbour didn’t receive one. There are half-a-dozen very large homes on our block that have one or more suites and they received the same size bins that I got.
Prior to writing this letter I took a look at the waste collection program calendar Surrey puts out. Except this one is for January to May. Didn’t receive one in June neither did my neighbours.
I am fully supportive of this new system. It is a program that will benefit many. But Oct. 1 will be bedlam and it’s only three weeks away.
Let’s see, $25 to change each of my bins. And all residents of Surrey have to pay for their bin liners?
Mayor Watts, as great as this new system will eventually be, I feel it is being crammed down our throats with poor planning by your city staff. There will be many problems come Oct. 1. and the majority could have been avoided.
B. Wasnock, Surrey
