Environment waste management

department summary

Following longstanding Indigenous traditions as stewards of the land, our nation is now committed to ensuring that the new Curbside Pick-up program is implemented efficiently and successfully in order to help reduce waste on-reserve by up to 90%. As stewards of the land, it is our job to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy the land as we do today.

 

2024 Collection schedule


How curbside collection works

  • Households separate their materials into food waste, recyclables, and garbage and take them to the curb by 8:00am on the days listed on your collection schedule

  • Food waste is stored in your green bin and is put out to the curb weekly on collection days.

  • Recyclables/garbage collection days alternate every two weeks, as shown on the collection calendar

curbside preparation guides

For more details on acceptable curbside materials and how to prepare them, please refer to the following guide:

Need more information on what kinds of plastics we accept? Click here to find out more.

CONTAINERS

  • Garbage containers are not provided by NFN or RDN. Containers can be purchased from a local hardware store. The maximum container size is 100 liters or 50 pounds.

  • Blue boxes can be purchased from most hardware stores.

  • Green composting containers can be purchased at Canadian Tire.

  • Bin tags are available to purchase at both the band office and health center for $3.00 each and allow you to put out an additional container of recycle or waste on regular collection days (shown below).

  • Bin tags are required for any containers which exceed the weight limit of 50 pounds.

Sample tag

Sample tag

missed collections

To report a missed pick-up of your green bin, garbage, or recycling, or for any other service questions, please call the Waste Connections of Canada at 1-866-999-8227.

Before you call, check to make sure that none of your containers have any of the following stickers on them:

 
 

illegal dumping

Illegal dumping is intentionally leaving waste on public or private land instead of using legal disposal methods like recycling or land filling. Those who generate (own), deliver or discard waste illegally can be subject to a fine of up to $2,000.00.

For more information on illegal dumping and how to report an incident of illegal dumping, please visit the RDN website.

frequently asked questions

  • Where can I get a yellow recycle bag?

    • Yellow recycle bags are available at the Nanoose First Nation Band Office with the Environments Curbside Coordinator or is also available at the municipal RDN office, both locations are free of charge

  • Where am I able to get the Curbside Schedule?

  • There are a few places to retrieve your schedule:

    • i. Available here on the Snaw-Naw-As webpage

    • ii. On the Regional District of Nanaimo webpage

    • iii. On the RDN curbside App available for phones and tablets, just type in your address in the search and it will appear along with a reminder for pick up days.

  • Do individual households have to worry about receiving any bills or fees associated with the curbside pick-up program?

    • No, under the Nanoose First Nation Collection Services Agreement, those bills/fees are covered by the Nation.

  • What happens if I miss the curbside pickup day?

    • If your bin was out by 8:00am on collection day and still wasn’t picked-up, please contact Waste Connections of Canada, at (250) 248-8109 or toll free at 1-866-999-8227.

  • What if I have more than one bag of garbage?

    • If you exceed the garbage weight limit of your bin then, it is required that you purchase a bag tag, which is a sticker that you stick on any extra bins/bags to indicate to the collector that the costs of that bin/bag have been covered.

  • Where are bag tags available for purchase?

    • Bag tags are available at both the Health Center and Band office reception desks for $3.00 each

  • Why wasn’t my garbage/recycling/food waste collected?

    • RDN reserves the right to refuse collection in circumstances including, but not limited to:

      • The gross weight of a container exceeds 50 pounds

      • There is liquid in free form in either the garbage or food waste

      • Any items contained in the garbage, recycle, or food waste do not adhere to the specified criteria for acceptable collection items

check out the rdn curbside app

Never miss another collection day with the RDN Curbside app! Featuring collection day notifications for email, iCalendar, and more. With additional support for finding your Curbside collection schedule and how to sort your items, why not take a minute to download?

 

Nanoose First Nation - brought to you via agreement with the Regional District of Nanaimo.