Smaller fee increases Windsor's bulk item pickup service requests

The City of Windsor's bulk item pickup program is seeing some good use compared to last year.

According to numbers released by the city for the third quarter this year, there were 516 calls made to 3-1-1. In the second quarter there were 484 requests. 

In all of 2017, there were only 291 service requests.

"Last year it was $20 per item. Council had voted to drop that fee to $10 per item this year, and obviously it led to quite a bit of an increase," said Jim Leether, city's administrator for waste collection contracts and operations.

The city launched the program last year in hopes of curbing illegal dumping in the city. Leether didn't have specific numbers for illegal dumping, but he said the bulk pickup program did help to cut it down.

Another change to the program that made it more accessible to people, said Leether, is increasing the number of pickups available to homes. Last year each zone got one pickup per month. 

That was changed halfway through the year.

"Essentially getting two collection periods in the month for the residents, and that definitely would have helped to improve the service as well," he said.

Residents can call 311 to request to have a maximum of two items picked up each time for $10 each item. The city will only pick up furniture. Appliances would need to be left at the city's Public Drop Off Depot.