The Halifax Regional Municipality is gauging interest on cart-based garbage collection.

The municipality has launched a survey that will be available to fill out until Dec. 20.

If the program is implemented, it would work similarly to how green bins are used for compost collection.

A black bin for garbage would be delivered to each household. Trucks with hydraulic arms would empty the bins on collection day and return them to the curb.

The municipality says the rationale for adopting cart-based collection "is typically related to health and safety considerations, modernization of collection infrastructure, citizen satisfaction (e.g., ease of use, storage) and protection from animals/birds and associated litter."

The municipality also noted that labour shortages are a factor since automated collection reduces the amount of labour required for garbage pickup.

Other jurisdictions in Canada are already using automated collection for black bins. For example, St. John's adopted the system in 2018.

Blue carts for recycling are not being considered in this survey, the municipality says.

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