Using your roll-out bins

Each week, bringing your roll-out bin to the road is an important step towards ensuring that the City of Bathurst's waste and recycling is efficiently removed and treated.

Following these "roll-out bin best practices" will help you avoid common mistakes and, in turn, help us accurately serve your home each week.

Table of content

Anatomy of a roll-out bin • Bin placement guidelines • Understanding the weight limit • Tips to reduce the weight of your bin • There's an app for that! • Garbage and recycling collection by-law • Other useful links

Anatomy of a roll-out bin

Residential waste — that is, garbage and recycling — within the City of Bathurst is disposed of inside large, wheeled carts: a dark grey one for garbage, and a blue one for recycling. These carts can hold a large volume of material and make it easy to bring your waste to the road each week.

Here are two key elements of your bin you will want to remember:

• The FRONT of the roll-out bin is where it opens. It should always face the road.
• The BACK of the roll-out bin is where you will find the wheels and the handle.

When properly placed at the road, your roll-out bin will have the FRONT side closest to the road, with the BACK side towards your home.

 Did you know? The total weight of your roll-out bin should never exceed 250 lb (113 kg). A bin that is too heavy can get damaged, or even cause damages to the waste disposal truck.

Bin placement guidelines

Here are some key items to keep in mind when placing your roll-out bin at the road:

• Only ONE bin at a time is allowed per residence.
• An apartment building with four or less units can have one bin per unit.
• The maximum total weight allowed for your roll-out bin is 250 lb (113 kg).
• When at the road, the FRONT of the bin always faces the road, and the BACK is always towards your home.
• The lid on your bin should fully close, with no overflow.
• Place your bin at the road the night before service day (not earlier than 8:00 pm), or on the day of collection (not later than 7:00 am).
• The empty bin should be brought back to your home by no later than 8:00 pm on the day of the collection.
• Place your bin at least three feet away (on all sides) from other structures such as mailboxes, walls, lamp posts, vehicles, etc.
• Avoid placing your bin near low-hanging tree branches.
• Place your bin between 5 and 10 feet from the road, and make sure nothing is between your bin and the street.
• In winter: give some space for the snow plow!

Understanding the weight limit

Any homeowner can tell you: these roll-out bins can get quite heavy at times!

Thankfully, they are designed to be lifted using a mechanical arm attached to the garbage truck.

There is, however, an important element to remember: the weight limit outlined in the City of Bathurst’s Garbage and Recycling Collection By-law: 250 lb (113 kg).

So, why is there a need for a weight limit?

• A bin that is too heavy could get damaged, may damage your property, or even damage the City truck.
• A heavy bin could accidentally fall into the hopper and cause the route to be delayed as crews attempt to extract it — sometimes requiring costly contractors or even heavy machinery!
• Part of your property taxes go towards the cost of the tipping fees at your local solid waste management facility. The yearly budget for tipping fees is, in part, decided based on this maximum weight limit.

Tips to reduce the weight of your bin

Keeping the weight of your roll-out bin down is not just about risks of damage or even by-laws; it’s also about keeping costs down for your municipality and yourself.

1. Use a Green Cone to dispose of food waste or start your own composting project.
2. Avoid throwing liquids in the garbage
3. Avoid filling your bin with heavy material that could be disposed of in other ways (e.g.: sand, soil, rocks, etc.)
4. Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) properly. See the Chaleur Regional Service Commission for more details.
5. Recycle! (If you’re not already doing it)
6. Reduce the purchase of non-recyclable packaging (i.e.: purchase ingredients or cleaning products through a bulk store, using your own containers)

Did you know? A household that recovers its recyclables but has not yet begun to compost can expect close to 60% of its household waste to be organic material.

There's an app for that!

Do you sometimes — or often — forget to bring your bin to the road?

Garbage and Recycling Collection By-law

On August 18, 2014, the Council of the City of Bathurst enacted by-law No. 2014-06:

BY-LAW RESPECTING GARBAGE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION AND WASTE DISPOSAL IN THE CITY OF BATHURST

While the guidelines found on this article will guide you on the right track to your own "roll-out bin success", you can also access the full document of by-law No. 2014-06 on our website.

We recommend taking the time to familiarize yourself with by-law No. 2014-06.

Did you know? A person who violates any provision of by-law 2014-06 is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine in accordance to the Provincial Offences and Procedures Act as a category “C” offence. These fines can range from $140 to $1,100.

Other useful links

Are you looking for more information about waste management within the City of Bathurst? Here are other useful links you may find interesting:

• Waste collection schedule for the City of Bathurst
• Chaleur Regional Service Commission
• Recycling in the City of Bathurst
• Special garbage collection in the City of Bathurst
• Leaf and branch disposal in the City of Bathurst
• Wood ash collection in the City of Bathurst