In February 2021, Councillors were updated by City staff from the Solids Waste Services of Public Works & Environmental Services on the Recycling in Parks expanded pilot project. Councillors were asked at that time to submit a list of preferred parks in their Wards to be included in the pilot project. In early February, City staff met individually with Councillors to pare down each Ward’s list of parks to 2 to 3 for inclusion in the pilot. From this shortlist, the process began for the city to evaluate the parks that were best suited for inclusion.
The list of criteria that City staff used to evaluate each park included the size and type of park, proximity to main access roads, and, accessibility to the park by a collection vehicle. Once assessed, the parks were mapped out to determine the optimal collection route to ensure the pilot project would be successful.
In all, 33 parks have been chosen across the city, with Stittsville Village Square being chosen to participate. In June, 2021 you can expect to see new receptacles for waste placed throughout the park. There will receptacles to collect garbage, recycling materials and one for organics. This expanded pilot project is expected to continue through to June 2022 where possible.
Once the pilot project has been completed after one year, City staff will be updating Council in late 2022 on the success of pilot and what the possible next steps will be.