The City of Vancouver has installed a new garbage collection system to deal with an anticipated 700 per cent increase in trash during the 2010 Olympic Games.
About 430 trash stations have been set up throughout the city. Each station consists of two metal hoops with plastic bags attached to each –- one for garbage, and one for recycling.
"It's simple, fairly cost effective and complies with security concerns around litter containers as well," said Chris Underwood, the city's solid waste management manager.
The bomb that killed two people at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 was hidden in a garbage can.
The plastic bags being installed in Vancouver are clear.
Underwood said there will be a staff of at least 100 people circulating the city collecting the bags when they're full and putting them in mobile carts. The bags will then be taken to vehicles parked around the city.
Meanwhile, private companies that collect trash from large metal bins are bracing themselves for a big job.
Companies that serve the downtown area can start collecting at 5 a.m. but need to be out by 9 a.m.
Gordon Smith, president of Smithrite Disposal, said he‘s planning to flood the downtown core with his trucks in the early morning hours to try to get the job done.
An area usually covered by two garbage trucks might see six or seven, he said.
Smith said he's concerned about delays due to Olympic-related road closures.
"We're going to give it our best shot and see what we can do," he said.
"I think I'll be pretty happy when it's all over."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
