Item - 2025.IE24.8

The General Manager, Parks and Recreation recommends that:

1. The Infrastructure and Environment Committee receive this report for information.

This report provides information requested by City Council on the number of solid waste trucks used in parks, where the trucks are required to drive on the turf to pick up waste in parks, and the estimated costs from the Parks and Recreation budget to repair turf.

Solid Waste Management Services provides waste collection services to approximately 1,175 parks across the city with a total fleet of 33 small waste collection vehicles. In most parks, waste can be collected without entering the park or by staying on paved pathways within the park. In certain situations, Solid Waste Management Services operators are required to temporarily drive off the paved surfaces to access waste bins and / or to avoid pedestrians and cyclists using the paved paths. In 186 parks (15.8 per cent of total parks serviced), waste station locations require operators to travel outside of paved pathways for waste collection.

The majority of turf repairs due to solid waste trucks are minor to medium in scale. The estimated cost from the Parks and Recreation budget for a minor repair is approximately $500, for a medium repair approximately $1000, and for a large repair approximately $2500 or more. There are very few instances of large-scale turf damage in parks.

Solid Waste Management Services and Parks and Recreation continue to work together on new park designs to minimize or eliminate the need for waste collection vehicles to travel off paved pathways.

There are no financial impacts resulting from the adoption of the recommendations in

this report.

Minor and medium turf repairs are included in the overall parkland maintenance operating budget of Parks and Recreation.

Costs for any new park designs to minimize or eliminate the need for waste collection vehicles to travel off paved pathways is included through the 2025 - 2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Parks and Recreation. 

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the

financial implications as identified in the Financial Impact section.