Newmarket looking to tackle growing trash problem with in-ground bins

The town of Newmarket, Ontario, is looking at a new way to deal with the extra garbage that has come with more businesses setting up shop up on Main Street — in-ground garbage cans to help clean up the street’s back alleys and reduce any odour.

Most of the container will be buried underground with only a third of the bin visible on the surface. So, not only do they save space, they also keep the trash out of the sun.

“Since two thirds of the container is below ground, the garbage can be stored in a cooler environment where it doesn’t smell,” Peter Noehammer, Newmarket’s commissioner of development and infrastructure services.

Stops trash from stinking

Newmarket isn’t the first community to explore underground garbage cans. Waterloo, Ont., has installed similar bins to collect manure from Eby Farmstead. Workers collect 53 kilograms — or 117 pounds — of animal dung from the bins daily. They say keeping the waste cool prevents it from stinking.

In the next few months two bins will be put in near the corner of Main and Timothy streets in Newmarket. They’ll take up about two parking spaces and will only be accessible for businesses in that area.

“[Newmarket] would monitor the volumes and charge [the businesses] back accordingly, so that it’s a cost neutral … project for the town,” said Noehammer.

The in-ground containers are made entirely of recycled material with a top lid that locks. They are also able to hold more waste then typical above-ground bins.

To empty them, garbage trucks lift them out of the ground with a forklift, dump the waste and replace them.

If the pilot project goes well, the city may install them elsewhere.