The City of Windsor now has three times the number of garbage trucks on the road collecting water logged castoff belongings.
An additional 20 garbage trucks from Toronto and Sarnia will be also be deployed to help with cleanup after last week’s record-breaking rainfall. Dump trucks and front end loaders will also be involved in the cleanup.
More than 200 millimetres of rain fell on Windsor and the surrounding areas over a 24-hour period on Aug. 29, washing out major streets and letting water into basements across the city.
Windsor’s 311 call centre has received about 5,500 basement flooding reports both online and over the phone.
The city is also cancelling recycling collection for the remainder of the week so all available personnel can focus on collecting flood materials.
Residents who have recycling at the curb are asked to take it back and save it until their next scheduled pick-up in two weeks.
Yard waste collection is also on hold for the rest of September.
Mayor Drew Dilkens admits it’s going to take them some time, but the city will collect all of the garbage as quickly as possible.
“We understand how uncomfortable it is and how horrible the situation is for everyone” says Dilkens.
“We understand some people have seen rats in the garbage because they have had to throw out food that was spoiled in their fridge” adds Dilkens.
The Mayor says the average truck is only able to collect from three to 10 homes before offloading at the depot, as opposed to regular garbage service, which can collect garbage from as many as 300 households.
The Town of LaSalle has added an extra garbage pick-up day on Sept. 11. Anyone with flood debris is asked to call public works by Friday and schedule a pickup.
The public drop-off depot on Central Ave. is also open and accepting flood damaged materials for free, including carpeting, padding, dry wall, furniture, and baseboards.
However, wait times at the dump can be significant at times.
The public drop-off is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.
