The City of Colwood is exploring options for a City Waste Collection Service. Thanks to the many community members who shared their perspective in a recent survey on Let's Talk Colwood.
Currently, Colwood residents contract their own waste collection services from a private operator. While this approach gives residents service and pricing options and creates healthy competition among contractors, it means residents are often paying different rates, and that several waste collection trucks may be travelling through neighbourhoods on a daily basis.
In 2024 Colwood Council directed staff to explore the feasibility of creating a City waste collection service to support affordability for residents and to reduce the environmental impact of many trucks travelling throughout Colwood neighbhourhoods.
What we heard from Colwood residents
During the fall of 2025, staff encouraged residents to provide input into a survey about how they currently manage their household waste, and how satisfied they are with the service they use.
248 residents responded to the survey. Of those, 81% currently use a contracted service provider with many of the remaining hauling it themselves to a facility. Of those who use a contractor
55.6% have their garbage picked up bi-weekly and 28.2% have weekly service. The majority (85.5%) indicated they are very satisfied, satisfied, or neutral with respect to their current waste management system. 14.5% of respondents expressed they are dissatsified or very dissatisfied with how they currently manage their household waste.
Benefiting from municipal collaboration
Colwood staff will continue to work with partners at the City of Langford, where a similar service is being explored.
Residents in neighbouring Langford also manage and pay for their own household garbage collection, and the City of Langford is looking into options for a contracted service. Collaboration has the potential for both communities to achieve a greater economy of scale and environmental benefit.
The municipalities have the opportunity to work together on a procurement process to determine whether it would result in lower costs for residents. Within this procurement process, the Colwood service would be considered an optional, value-added component, giving Colwood Council the opportunity to weight the benefits of moving forward before any service is implemented.
Next steps
Staff will report back to Council and the community with more details as collaboration continues with partners at the City of Langford.