Island Waste Management says East Prince will get a new garbage collector in September
CBC
Residents of eastern Prince County are getting a new contractor to collect their garbage starting Sept. 1.
Earlier this week, CBC News reported that a pattern of delayed trash pickups in the area has left residents frustrated and caused uncollected waste to blow onto other people's properties.
Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC) contracts out garbage collection to Label Construction and Sanitation in East Prince, a region that includes Summerside, Kensington, Borden-Carleton and the surrounding areas.
On Thursday afternoon, the corporation announced that it's changing contractors for the region in three months.
"Commencing [in] September, there will be a different contractor providing collection services in both East and West Prince, and it will be operating under contracts which are more rigorous and punitive concerning service level deficiencies," Island Waste Management said in a news release.
"In the meantime, IWMC will continue to explore and exhaust all possible remedies to improve the current situation as quickly as possible."
A listing on the province's website says the tender was won by GFL Environmental Inc., which handles other waste services on the Island, as well as transfer stations in Charlottetown and Summerside, a landfill in Hope River and a recycling station in Cardigan.
IWMC said the current collection contracts for East and West Prince have been in place for the past 10 years. The corporation said those contracts contain numerous terms and conditions, including a requirement that collections adhere to a schedule.
The corporation said it is in contact on a daily basis with the current contractor about its performance and complaints about missed collections.
"Unfortunately, there is presently a shortage of personnel, and this is proving to be very challenging to resolve the substandard level of service being experienced by some residents, mostly in the East Prince area," the release said.
A spokesperson for IWMC said it would be inappropriate to publicly discuss any actions it's pursuing under the current contract terms, but it is exploring options to improve the collection until the new contractor takes over.
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