Automation is a consideration for the future of curbside waste collection in Salmon Arm.
At its Nov. 27 meeting, Salmon Arm council voted to extend the city’s residential curbside collection contract with SCV Contractors Corporation for a one-year period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
City engineering and public works director Rob Niewenhuizen said SCV was willing to extend the contract for one year under the same terms and conditions of the existing contract, meaning no price increase other than adjustments for CPI and the diesel rack rate price. Niewenhuizen explained the intent of the extension is to allow engineering staff to review the next phase of the contract.
“We will be looking at potentially implementing an automated system,” said Niewenhuizen. “Most of the garbage collections are not manual anymore, they are automated… so I suspect the next revision of this… or the new contract will see an automated bin system. As well, it will give us time to look at potentially zero emission vehicles as well.”
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District is also in the midst of a Solid Waste Management Plan review and an update is expected to be completed in late 2025. From that there may be changes to be incorporated in the city’s program.
Niewenhuizen said from discussions with SCV, a big concern would be the wait time involved to have vehicles equipped for the transition to automation. As a result, he suggested the transition could occur through a phased approach.
“If we are looking at a three-bin system, or four-bin system, whatever it works out to, it will be about an automated system and it’s about actually the contractors having that fleet in place, so I think there’s going to be a transition…,” said Niewenhuizen. “But that will be an RFP (request for proposals) process so it will be up to the contractors to decide how they are going to do that, and obviously we will be looking at the cost associated with that in the next phase.”
Regarding zero-emission vehicles, Coun. Tim Lavery explained it was his lay-person understanding that that technology for the intended use is still “aspirational” and “not ready for prime time… and I would have complete confidence staff would be able to navigate that with that aspirational aspect in mind.”
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