Winter has descended on the Lower Mainland, and the Township of Langley has some advice on what to do when snow and icy roads affect curbside collection services.
During winter weather conditions, residents are asked to still put their garbage, organics, and recycling out for the day and ensure their carts and recycling containers are visible. The contractor will do its best to pick up the material up by the end of the day. If material does not get collected, find out if it should be brought back in and put out the following week by:
1. Visiting tol.ca/garbage and signing up for a weekly collection reminder to be notified by email or phone
2. Viewing an updated list of collection delays at sierrawaste.ca/township-of-langley
3. Calling 604-530-3939 for updates
Those in multi-family complexes should check with their property managers if the regular collection day is missed.
As temperatures drop, organic waste can freeze inside carts or cans. Collection staff make every effort to collect all contents, but if this is not possible, residents are asked to be patient and wait for the next collection day.
To prevent materials from freezing inside your cart or can, give it a winter lining by placing newspaper or yard trimmings bags along the bottom and sides. Wrap food scraps in newspaper and don’t overfill the container. Tightly packed, wet material can become stuck in the cart, so keep contents loose by layering materials with soiled paper products or leaves.
Curbside collection days will be affected by the holidays this year. Residents are asked to refer to their biweekly collection schedule at tol.ca/calendar.
Please note that only 100 per cent paper, non-metallic wrapping paper can go in the yellow bag for recycling, so be sure to remove all tape, ribbons, and bows. Items such as cellophane, foil wrapping paper, tinsel, ribbons, and bows must go in the garbage.
When the holiday season is over, Christmas trees can be recycled at chipping events offered by local fundraising organizations. Look for a listing of tree chipping events on the Township’s website and in the Township Page in the Langley Times.
Residents who receive municipal waste collection services can also leave Christmas trees out for pickup beside their Green Carts, as they would with regular branch bundles. Christmas tree branches must be no more than 7.62 cm (three inches) in diameter and tied with string or twine for a maximum bundle size of 1.5 metres by half a metre long. Christmas trees may need to be cut in half.