Vancouver struggles to keep up with overflowing garbage bins

The City of Vancouver is grappling with tons of overflowing garbage bins around the city as warm weather and city events prompt more people to head outside.  

Albert Shamess, the director of waste management and resource recovery for the City of Vancouver, says the beautiful summer and large-scale events like the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival mean a lot more people are visiting city parks, downtown, and the seawall.

"I think there's just so many people out and about now because of the good weather, it's hard for us to stay on top of it," he told On The Coast.

"We'll service a container on our night shift, by mid-morning the next day, it's full again. So we've been out sometimes two, three, even four times a day at some locations."

Shamess says city staff are already working overtime, auxiliary staff have been recruited, and an extra 200 bins have already been put out. However, the city is still struggling to keep sidewalks and parks clean.

Councillor Andrea Reimer advises people to go online to report overflowing bins. She says the city's budget for clean-up has already been maxed out, but if the problem persists, the city may add more cleaning crews.

For now, Shamess suggests that people who go to parks for family events take their garbage home with them, and to let the city know if they see an overflowing bin.

Listen to the full interview: Garbage bins overflowing in Vancouver