(Photo: Kelly Roche/QEW South Post)

(Photo: Kelly Roche/QEW South Post)

(Photo: Kelly Roche/QEW South Post)

(Photo: Kelly Roche/QEW South Post)

(Photo: Kelly Roche/QEW South Post)

BY KELLY ROCHE

After months of preparation, education, and contestation, 70,000 households were the first to experience the new garbage cart pickup in Peel Monday.

Approximately 160 to 170 garbage trucks were on the road – south Mississauga included – making tedious three-point turns and aligning equipment to properly empty the carts.

The old blue, grey, and green bins have officially been kicked to the curb – but apparently that’s news to some residents, who still placed obsolete containers roadside.

“Old boxes and bins will not be collected,” said Region of Peel spokeswoman Amie Miles.

“The operators will sticker unacceptable containers to help educate the resident on proper set out procedures.”

Along with containers, some residents also placed the wrong carts at the curb. For example, recycling carts were spotted, when only garbage and organics were scheduled for pickup this week.

Starting day confusion aside, “the cart roll out is going extremely well,” said Miles.

Residents can find customized information for their pickup schedule here.

@qewsouthpost

PHASED IN

• Phase One: 84 per cent of residents selected their cart sizes, meaning the majority of residents chose what they believed would work best for their household and were aware of the size of carts that would be delivered to their home.
• Phase Two: The Region focused on the delivery of almost one million carts between Sept. 14 and Dec. 19, 2015.
• Delivery was completed on time.

RESIDENTS’ RESPONSE SINCE DEC. 1, 2015

• Calls regarding waste: 10,865  (3.6 per cent of contact).
• Unique visits to peelregion.ca/waste: 293,294  (96.4 per cent of contact).
• Going online allows residents to access waste services 24/7, including reporting missed waste collection, lost or damaged carts and informational videos.

(Source: Region of Peel)