Saanich council is expected to approve two hefty contracts tonight as part of the municipality's move next year to keep kitchen scraps out of the landfill.
The first contract, worth $3.2 million, was to be awarded to Rollins Machinery Limited to purchase 13 new collection trucks that are capable of automated bin pickup.
"We held off for two budget cycles on some of the other vehicle replacements until we had a decision what kind of collection and what the model is," said Mike Ippen, Saanich's manager of public works.
The second contract, worth $4.7 million, was to be awarded to Mitchell Brothers Farm. This contract is for Mitchell Brothers to receive the organics, collected in new green bins that will be provided to each Saanich household, and process the material to create compost for five years.
One more request for proposals for garbage collection remains outstanding. Ippen hopes in the coming weeks Saanich will be able to begin to process to find a supplier of the curbside garbage and organics bins.
In January council approved a new garbage collection system that will require Saanich homeowners to separate food scraps from traditional trash. The new collection system will also require households to wheel both bins to the curb every two weeks.
An education campaign to prepare residents for the new collection system, slated to begin next year, is expected to start next month.
kslavin@saanichnews.com