London’s recently launched green bin program has caused frustration and dissatisfaction among some neighbourhoods. Some have not even received their green bins yet. London resident and Fanshawe College student Heli Khetani said she felt the program was “rushed.”

“It is not well thought out. It is a good program, but I do not think the program they created is right for us,” said Khetani. “I think it is a big slap in the face for us.”

She said that as she took the garbage out on a recent Wednesday morning, she noticed that the green bin and the trash went into the same truck.

“Londoners have been waiting a long time for this program,” said Khetani. “We all eagerly wanted to participate, which is disappointing,” Khetani said that London needs all the trucks on the road. She also said that the new schedule for the garbage pickup is not “well thought out.”

“It is awful that the garbage will stay there for two weeks,” Khetani said. “Especially in the summer when it is so hot outside, they can spread bacteria.”

According to The City of London, green bins and blue box recycling will be collected weekly. Homeowners can dispose of up to three rubbish containers every two weeks.

“I understand they are having difficulty procuring the trucks and having them specked out properly from their provider,” Khetani said. She added that more due diligence should have been done at the beginning of the program.

“They did not have one of the new trucks with the two-sided disposal. Seeing that frustrated me,” said Khetani.

The City of London’s director of climate change, environment and waste management, Jay Stanford, said that is not how the system is meant to work.

“We generally have the two green packers. If we do not have two-stream packers, the materials must be kept separate using two vehicles,” Stanford said.

Stanford said a couple of issues have arisen since the program’s launch.

“Due to the severe weather, some green beans have matured and frozen at the bottom because hot liquids have frozen in cold temperatures,” Stanford said.

He added that they have also received reports and complaints of squirrels and animals chewing up the bins.

“People need to place their containers where it might be more likely that animals will not get and hide them, but these are things that people must learn as they begin to adopt the green bin program,” Stanford said.

He added that the garbage has always been in a location, and animals could be getting into it already.

“Just with the green bin in place, additional care will be required,” Stanford said.

Stanford said they know that although 127,000 homes have received their kitchen containers and green bins thus far, some have not yet received them. He said the City is working on that.

“A unique system will be implemented to assist the residents of the approximately 3,900 townhome complex units that we still need to attend. Change comes with a lot of effort on all sides,” Stanford said.