Waste Reduction through Three-Stream Curbside Collection

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The Cowichan Valley population is expected to grow to over 100,000 by the year 2040. To reduce the amount of material shipped to the landfill, the regional Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) identified the need to provide all residents with equal access to three-stream (organics, recycling and garbage) curbside collection.

Reducing garbage disposal is important as the Cowichan Valley does not have a local landfill, and landfill capacity is limited on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Garbage from the Cowichan Valley is transported via truck, barge and rail service more than 700km to a landfill in Washington State. Long-distance transportation of waste materials is becoming increasingly expensive and difficult due to the floods and fires associated with climate change.

Three-stream curbside collection is the separation of household waste into three categories: organics, recycling and garbage.

What We Learned from the Community in Phase 1 (Spring 2022)

In May 2022, the CVRD launched the three-stream curbside collection Phase 1 community engagement process. The goal of Phase 1 engagement was to listen and learn from the community about priorities, concerns, and preferences for implementing a three-stream curbside collection service.

In Phase 1 engagement, we learned from the community that:

  1. There is overall support for three-stream curbside collection service in the CVRD Electoral Areas. Residents see this service as a benefit to their household and the larger community.
  2. Continued education is needed to support the implementation plan.
  1. There are concerns about service and delivery costs, with an acknowledgment that creative solutions are needed to keep costs manageable.
  1. Reducing the amount of waste being sent to the landfill is critical, as is offering convenient waste disposal services.

  2. Residents want to understand what can be done to minimize conflict with wildlife and support the local economy by working with local waste management companies.

The community expressed a desire to expand the curbside program to include other materials such as glass and yard waste. There was also an acknowledgement of urban and rural residents' diverse waste management service needs.

Phase 2 of Engagement April 24 - May 19

Phase 2 of community engagement was focused on sharing the two service options for curbside collection. The goal of this phase of engagement was to better understand the preferred options for curbside collection and why community members prefer one option over another. The feedback will be used to help refine the service options for CVRD Board for approval.

We will be reporting back soon on the feedback we received from the community. Hit the Stay Informed (see the top right of the page) button to stay connected and learn about the next steps.

Options for Curbside Collection Service


Project Timeline



The Cowichan Valley population is expected to grow to over 100,000 by the year 2040. To reduce the amount of material shipped to the landfill, the regional Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) identified the need to provide all residents with equal access to three-stream (organics, recycling and garbage) curbside collection.

Reducing garbage disposal is important as the Cowichan Valley does not have a local landfill, and landfill capacity is limited on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Garbage from the Cowichan Valley is transported via truck, barge and rail service more than 700km to a landfill in Washington State. Long-distance transportation of waste materials is becoming increasingly expensive and difficult due to the floods and fires associated with climate change.

Three-stream curbside collection is the separation of household waste into three categories: organics, recycling and garbage.

What We Learned from the Community in Phase 1 (Spring 2022)

In May 2022, the CVRD launched the three-stream curbside collection Phase 1 community engagement process. The goal of Phase 1 engagement was to listen and learn from the community about priorities, concerns, and preferences for implementing a three-stream curbside collection service.

In Phase 1 engagement, we learned from the community that:

  1. There is overall support for three-stream curbside collection service in the CVRD Electoral Areas. Residents see this service as a benefit to their household and the larger community.
  2. Continued education is needed to support the implementation plan.
  1. There are concerns about service and delivery costs, with an acknowledgment that creative solutions are needed to keep costs manageable.
  1. Reducing the amount of waste being sent to the landfill is critical, as is offering convenient waste disposal services.

  2. Residents want to understand what can be done to minimize conflict with wildlife and support the local economy by working with local waste management companies.

The community expressed a desire to expand the curbside program to include other materials such as glass and yard waste. There was also an acknowledgement of urban and rural residents' diverse waste management service needs.

Phase 2 of Engagement April 24 - May 19

Phase 2 of community engagement was focused on sharing the two service options for curbside collection. The goal of this phase of engagement was to better understand the preferred options for curbside collection and why community members prefer one option over another. The feedback will be used to help refine the service options for CVRD Board for approval.

We will be reporting back soon on the feedback we received from the community. Hit the Stay Informed (see the top right of the page) button to stay connected and learn about the next steps.

Options for Curbside Collection Service


Project Timeline


CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
  1. Which option do you prefer and why? 
  2. What would make adopting Three-Stream Curbside Collection services easy for you?
  3. What questions do you have for us about Three-Stream Curbside Collection services? 
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    What specific site will the compostables be processed at? Will this be local? I live in Cobble Hill and the Fisher Rd depot is extremely smelling on the best of days. I would suggest sourcing out a site that is far from the heart of a community so the residents don't have to suffer. Everything else in the proposal I fully support. Thanks, Joel

    JDogger asked 5 months ago

    Thank you for your comment and support for the service, Joel.  

    It is not known where the organics collected from the curbside service will be processed at this time. We anticipate issuing an RFP (request for proposal) in early 2024 to invite all interested compost processing facilities to bid on the work. The work will be awarded to the organization that best meets the program requirements.

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    I live in a rural area of the CVRD, so the collection of yard waste and compost makes absolutely no sense and it seems to be a waste of resources and money. I would like to opt out of this program in order to save on unnecessary costs.

    Sean asked 5 months ago

    Thank you for your comment, Sean. We recognize that some people compost at home, which we encourage. However, some organic items (such as grains, fish, meat, bones and dairy) are unsuitable for most backyard composting systems and must, unfortunately, be disposed of in the garbage. 

    Introducing a curbside organic collection service is an important measure of reducing landfill waste, as 33% of our region's waste contains organic material. 

    We thank you for your input and will record your comment in our program review.

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    I wish to retain current level of service, which is bi-weekly recycle collection. I absolutely will not use the compost/garden refuse service and will continue to use the services of the Fisher Road recycle which is much more convenient for me. We live in a rural area and use all our own compost/garden waste. These services seem more appropriate for the higher density areas, but not for our small farm. I want the option to retain the current service level and opt out of the three-stream curb side collection. The cost is of great concern, and will be difficult for fixed income households to absorb.

    strawberrypatch asked 5 months ago

    Thank you for your comment, strawberrypatch! 

    We understand that our community has diverse waste management needs, especially those in the farming community. We appreciate your feedback and will consider it for the future program.

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    I personally prefer the option without yard waste as we have a truck, but I support the yard wast for the community as many will not have the ability to get rid of their yard waste. I wonder if the three-steam curb side collection services actually means that we will receive the full service on all of Riverside road in Duncan, where we currently only qualify for garbage service.

    Wyskyjack asked 5 months ago

    Thank you for your feedback, Wyskyjack! You are correct- residents on Riverside Road will receive three-stream curbside collection when the service is implemented in 2025. Don't forget to share your thoughts in the survey if you haven't already as well.

    yard waste
    yard waste
Page last updated: 18 Sep 2023, 11:34 AM