Executive summary
- This report has been prepared to review the two-year Loose Leaf Collection pilot programs of 2020 and 2021 and provide improvement options for Council’s consideration.
- The primary service for leaf disposal throughout the City of Burlington is provided through the Region of Halton’s bagged yard waste pickup program, with bi-weekly collections scheduled from April to mid-December. The city also provides a loose leaf collection service which supplements the regional service, and was originally put in place to help residents in areas where leaf drop volumes are very high, and where it
would not be convenient to bag/collect through the Region’s yard waste collection service. - Prior to 2020, the city’s loose leaf collection program was delivered annually over a six-week period commencing in early November, with two collections planned for designated areas of the city. Occurrences of winter weather during the program period would often cause collection delays and in extreme cases prevent the completion of the program. The later was the case during the 2018 and 2019 program years, with continuous winter weather causing an early end to leaf collection activities, leaving many areas not serviced with uncollected leaves remaining on the roadway. Understandably, this caused intense resident dissatisfaction with a high number of complaints, which resulted in a program review and the establishment of the recent two-year pilot.
- The current loose leaf collection pilot was approved by Council for the 2020 and 2021 program years and was restricted to a single pickup to select areas of the city, over a reduced four-week period. The pilot program was designed to mitigate service delivery risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic as well as to reduce program costs.
- This report has been prepared to summarize the findings of the two-year pilot as well as to recommend program improvement options.
Climate implications
- The Loose Leaf Collection Program is currently dependent on gas and diesel powered equipment that contribute to the city’s corporate greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Region’s yard waste collection program also utilizes diesel powered trucks that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Through its green fleet replacement strategy, the city will be investigating opportunities to reduce its reliance on vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
- Regardless, the best practice for homeowners to reduce the climate change impact of leaf collection would be to mulch and compost on their own property to the greatest extent possible.