'The bins aren’t appropriate': Residents react to Waterloo Region’s proposed waste collection program

A pricey plan, proposed by staff for the Region of Waterloo, would see a new fleet of garbage trucks and carts replace bags.

A new fleet of garbage trucks and carts – instead of bags.

That’s part of a pricey new plan proposed by staff for the Region of Waterloo.

Starting in 2026, the region plans to roll out an automated cart-based system. Each household would get two carts and residents could still use bags, but they would need to put in the carts at the curb for pickup.

The cart-based system is already used in many other communities like Toronto, Guelph and Simcoe County.

“A single cart for garbage, that's 240 litres. It's equivalent to the existing three bag limit, maybe a little bit more. And then a green cart which is about 100 litres to 120 litres,” explained Jon Arseneault, Waterloo region’s waste management director.

All 60 of the region’s garbage trucks would need to be replaced, but the benefit is that it would be the trucks doing most of the heavy lifting.