Sort'nGo Automated Cart Collection
The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) is introducing an automated cart collection system to all single-family households in the City of Port Alberni. The new Sort'nGo service is an upgrade to waste collection that will include automatic roadside collection trucks and uniform carts for three streams of waste: recycling, organics and garbage. New recycling and organics carts that look similar to the existing garbage cart will be provided to homes in the City of Port Alberni.
Stay In-The-Know with Sort'nGo
Visit our interactive page about Sort'nGo Organics Collection to learn more, get the latest updates and ask questions: letsconnectacrd.ca/organics
Download the Sort'nGo app (available for Android and iPhone) and get schedule alerts, use a quick search tool for sorting, find out where to go with items that don't belong in the cart and even play an online sorting game for prizes. Search "Sort'nGo ACRD" at the Apple Store or Google Play.
About the New Sort'nGo Service
The goals of the new Sort'nGo auto-cart system are to provide more efficient collection, reduce future costs for residents and extend the lifespan of the landfill.
Here's what you need to know:
- New uniform carts for recycling and organics allow an automated collection truck equipped with a mechanical arm to collect three streams of waste.
- The standard size for the new organics and recycling carts are 240L. The City of Port Alberni standard garbage carts are 120L. Small 7L 'kitchen buddies' were also delivered.
- Organics will be collected every week. Garbage and recycling will be collected every two weeks, on alternating weeks.
- The automated trucks will be equipped with cameras to check for contamination and oversized items so the City can send reminders to residents about proper cart use.
- The estimated increase to move to a three-stream collection system (garbage, organics and recycling) is $4/month for a total roadside collection cost of around $15/month per household.
- In 2021, the ACRD will engage with other Alberni Valley communities about the introduction of this program beyond City boundaries.
Things to keep in mind when sorting/placing waste in the new carts:
Recycling:
- All items must be clean and loose inside the cart. Do not bag or nest items in the cart - place them inside the cart individually.
- Excess material placed outside the cart will not be collected - please ensure that the cart is closed and there is no overflow.
- Cardboard should be broken down so it doesn't jam the hopper inside the trucks and large pieces should be placed vertically in the cart.
- Items such as hazardous materials, plastic bags, overwrap and foam packaging can not be disposed of in your recycling cart. Please continue to take these materials, along with excess cardboard, to the Recycle BC depots for disposal.
- Hardcover and softcover books cannot be included in blue carts. Please consider donating reading items to reuse centres.
- Shredded paper can be placed in a clear plastic bag inside your blue recycling cart (do not use coloured or opaque garbage bags). This will make it easy to pull and sort off the line at the post collection facility. All other items in the blue cart should be left loose.
Organics:
- Dispose of all food scraps (even those not suitable to backyard composting like meat, bones and dairy) as well as soiled papers (think greasy pizza boxes!)
- Include yard waste like grass clippings, leaves and branches but please note the maximum length for branches in the cart is 24 inches, or two feet, with a two-inch diameter. This is to ensure that material can get through the truck's "hopper" system.
- Do not include Invasive weeds (those common to the area are Japanese Knotweed, Giant Knotweed, Bohemian Knotweed, Himalayan Knotweed, Purple Loosetrife, Yellow Flag Iris and blackberry bushes). These should be disposed of in the garbage. See a full list of invasives on the BC Government Website
- Do not put 'compostable' plastic bags in the green cart.
- Only paper bags and newspaper can be used to line the green cart and the "kitchen buddy".
- Lining your cart with newspaper or cardboard can help items such as food waste and wet grass clipping from sticking to the bottom of the cart.
Garbage:
- Excess garbage bags that do not fit in the cart will not be collected.
What's Happening
- Aug 23 - Sept 10, 2021: New organics/recycling carts are delivered to all eligible households in Port Alberni. During this time, residents are being asked to please leave garbage carts out until 5 pm on their collection days. This will give crews the extra time needed to conduct maintenance on the garbage carts in preparation for the automated truck collection service.
- Week of September 13, 2021: The new service is slated to begin for all single-family homes within the City of Port Alberni.
- Late 2021: Consultation with communities outside the 2021 City's boundaries about possible expansion of organics collection to these areas within the regional district.
News Releases
- 13 October 2021 - Port Alberni Residents Divert a Whale’s Worth of Organics from Landfill
- 3 September 2021 - Sort'nGo Organics Collection in Port Alberni set to begin Sept. 13
- 11 Aug 2021 - New Uniform Collection Carts Heading to Single Family Homes in Port Alberni
- 19 March 2021 - Alberni Valley Landfill Upgrades
- 21 Jan 2021 - Roadside Organics Collection Coming to Port Alberni: Info Webpage Now Live
Get in Touch
Phone: 250-736-SORT (7678) Email: sortngo@acrd.bc.ca