RELEASE — Stay Safe, Stay Home – the City is reminding residents to carefully consider the non-essential trips that they are taking during the pandemic – and is urging residents to hold on to yard waste until after emergency measures are lifted, since these trips are not essential.
Effective immediately, the City is requesting that residents ONLY bring yard waste to the depot on their regular waste collection day. These changes will be in effect until at least May 3. For example, if your waste is collected curbside on Mondays; you will be permitted to bring yard waste to the depot on Mondays, as well as on certain Saturdays as listed below. This will enable the smooth operation of the Kingston Area Recycling Centre (KARC) located at 196 Lappan’s Lane.
The yard waste drop-off depot has been overwhelmed with visitors this week – more than 1,500 people have taken a trip into the depot so far this week to drop-off yard wastes. This is well above the normal level of visits that usually take place at the start of spring.
“We understand that residents are taking time to clean their yards now. However, the volume of visitors has caused traffic concerns and created challenges to accommodate for physical-distancing with the number of people gathering at the depot at a time,” says Heather Roberts, Director of Solid Waste Services.” We need to put plans in place to spread out the visits to the site which will reduce traffic volumes on the road, wait-time frustrations and safeguard the health of those working at, and visiting the depot.”
The yard waste depot will be closed for the entire holiday weekend at the end of day Thursday, April 9 allowing time to prepare and communicate the changes that will come into effect when the site reopens on Tuesday, April 14.
As previously announced, the recycling depot at KARC has been closed on Saturdays since the week of March 16. The hours of operation for both the recycling depot and the yard waste depot will be reviewed at the end of April.
Dropping Off Yard Waste?
If you must drop off yard waste, please do so only on your regularly scheduled curbside waste collection day.
Easter drop-off:
For next week, April 13-18, your collection day will be delayed one day due to the Easter Monday Holiday. If your waste is normally collected on Monday, waste collection and access to the yard waste site will be on Tuesday. Residents with a Friday collection will have access to the site on Saturday, April 18.
Saturday, April 25 and May 2 drop-off:
- In addition to your normal collection day, those who live West of Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard may access the site on April 25.
- In addition to your normal collection day, those who live East of Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard and North of the 401 may access the site on May 2.
Those choosing to visit KARC should expect delays and may also notice:
- City staff may be on-site to help control the new rules (above) for using the yard waste depot.
- New electronic signs at the corner of John Counter Boulevard and Lappan’s Lane.
Stay up-to-date with the City’s COVID-19 changes.
Find answers to your COVID-19 questions from KFL&A Public Health.
Photo: Google
Release: City of Kingston
