The City of Delta is providing details on the new program that will replace the annual Spring Clean-Up in 2021.
A report by the engineering department to be discussed at council Monday notes a Large Item Pick-Up program to commence this year will include all households that receive curbside garbage collection.
Residents would contact Remple Disposal, which has the recycling and waste collection contract with Delta, and schedule a time for collection.
Residents can dispose four items at once, or up to four separate items throughout the year.
The program will accept the same large items as Spring Clean-Up, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including bulky household items, furniture and scrap metal.
Mattresses, which are not picked up in the Spring Clean-Up, will also be accepted in the new program.
Collected mattresses are to be sent to the Vancouver Landfill at no cost to Delta thanks to the current landfill agreement with the City of Vancouver, which permits up to 7,200 mattresses to be recycled at no cost each year.
A report to council notes six other municipalities in the region offer Large Item Pick-Up programs including Surrey and Coquitlam, both having transitioned from Spring-Clean-Up programs over a decade ago.
“Feedback from these jurisdictions indicates that program participation is high and that the program is popular amongst residents. While some of the large item programs were temporarily suspended during the initial COVID-19 pandemic, they were all able to resume by summer 2020,” the report states.
The report also notes it’s expected the new program will result in an overall reduction of garbage, both through collection and illegal dumping.
The program is expected to cost $150,000 more than the Spring Clean-Up, but the engineering department notes that’s been accounted for in the 2021 solid waste budget.
The department also notes some operational cost savings would be recognized, as illegal dumping incidents and costs typically spike around Spring Clean-Up each year.
Staff will evaluate and review the community feedback on the replacement program throughout the year and report back to council.
A staff response to a recent letter from a concerned resident about the cancellation of Spring-Clean-Up notes it has only been cancelled for 2021 and that council will consider Spring Clean-Up for 2022.
