The City of Thunder Bay is delivering wheeled garbage carts to roughly 31,000 single-family households this month, completing a multi-year switch to automated collection across the city. Deliveries started May 4 and will continue over several weeks, with the new carts ready for use on collection day during the week of June 1.
Each household gets a 240-litre cart, which is city property and assigned to a specific address. Residents need to write their address on the lid in permanent marker and store the cart in a garage or beside the house until collection begins in June. The new carts are similar in design to the recycling carts many residents already use.
Once the system is fully running, collection trucks with mechanical arms will lift, empty, and return the carts to the curb, all controlled by the driver from inside the cab. This means workers no longer have to lift heavy bags by hand, and the long-standing 40-pound weight limit per item is being dropped. As long as the cart lid closes, residents can load it up without worrying about weight.
If a cart is full, one extra tagged garbage bag can still be placed beside it. Residents who have trouble rolling a cart to the curb due to mobility issues can apply for set-out help through a form on the City of Thunder Bay website. On collection day, carts must be at the curb by 7 a.m., with at least three feet of space from recycling carts, vehicles, or other objects.
This month’s delivery wraps up a transition that began with a pilot program for about 9,000 homes in September 2025, as part of the city’s 2014 Solid Waste Management Strategy. Jason Sherband, the city’s manager of solid waste and recycling services, has called the full rollout a significant achievement and a transformation of how Thunder Bay handles curbside garbage.
Some residents have raised concerns about bears being drawn to the new carts, especially in areas near wooded sections of the city. Sherband said Bear Wise practices apply the same way they always have, and garbage should be stored in a bear-proof spot until collection morning. The city says a future green bin program will include carts with gravity locks that secure automatically, which may help reduce wildlife issues down the road.
