Given that they have been using this service in Australia for decades I’m surprised it took so long to catch on here in Calgary. From our experience in Australia it’s a muchbetter way to collect garbage since it’s faster, more efficient and cleaner.

In Australia there was no provision made for extra garbage bags. To be honest I could see that as being quite a hindrance with the efficiency of the system, especially since they are moving to a one-person garbage truck, so the person picking up will have to be the drive.

There is no way in our yard for us to wheel the black bins into the yard or closer to the house, so it will be living in our back alley. We’ve had the blue recycling bins for a while and they’ve worked well. Occasionally after heavy winds though I have sometimes had to go searching for the bin near the end of alley.

You can read more about the City of Calgary Black Cart Garbage Collection here.