Improving waste collection programs

City of Hamilton - Service Level Review

When the City of Hamilton started to consider its collection systems options for the next residential waste collection program contract, we were hired to conduct a service level evaluation of residential waste collection. A detailed assessment of the City’s waste collection system and waste composition led to the identification and screening of a long list of options. After shortlisting the options, system modeling detailed financial impacts of each approach, including single-stream processing and biweekly collection.

In evaluating a move to single-stream processing, a detailed assessment of the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) was conducted, including an assessment of the existing equipment and configuration as well as audits of several residual waste streams from the MRF to identify areas for improvement.

This study ultimately supported City staff in the development of both the Collection and Processing RFPs. And while a system with biweekly garbage collection and two-stream recyclables was recommended, Council ultimately decided to remain with a system very close to the status quo (weekly collection of all streams).