Latest truck fire won't affect residential pickup, Waste Management says
The destruction by fire of another one of its garbage trucks won't further affect residential pickup in Ottawa's west end, Waste Management said.
The truck burned Monday morning in a parking lot near Carleton University's athletics complex. There were no injuries, but significant damage to the vehicle.
Unlike a fire in June that damaged eight of the company's trucks and caused $3 million in damage, Waste Management says this latest blaze won't affect its ability to fulfil its contract to pick up residential waste in the city's west end.
"This is a commercial truck," Jessica Knopf, the company's communications manager, said after Monday's fire. Knopf said her company is grateful no one was hurt, and is looking into the cause of the incident. "Waste Management managers and drivers are trained in what to do in the event of a truck fire," she said. "In this case, authorities quickly responded and thankfully no one was injured and no significant environmental impact was recorded."
Ongoing collection issues
Residents of Ottawa's west end have been complaining for months about poor garbage collection service.
Waste Management, which is under contract to collect curbside waste in Bay ward, Kanata, Stittsville and the city's rural west end, has admitted to falling behind, blaming the major fire at its Westbrook Road facility in June.
However, west-end residents have claimed crews have regularly failed to collect household waste, recycling and composting on appointed collection days since May.
