A power line and trees down on Nanaimo River Road, west of South Forks Road, on Dec. 22. Gemma Martin, who took the photo, said the road is the only way in and out of her house.
Five days after Thursday’s massive the windstorm, the City of Nanaimo is reminding residents to throw out spoiled food and take their larger tree branches to the local depots.
The windstorm caused widespread power outages across Vancouver Island, including in Nanaimo. The city’s water treatment plant was also shut down but returned to full capacity on Saturday. A control device within the plan had malfunctioned during the power outage and was replaced.
Officials are now reminding residents to put food that spoiled during the outages into the green organics cart. All packaging must be removed from the food, including plastic, styrofoam and other non-paper packing materials. Spoiled food is also accepted at the Nanaimo Regional Landfill but there are tipping fees.
The storm also toppled over trees and created a mess of branches and debris in residents’ yards.
The city said leaves and light trimmings (fewer than five millimetres in diameter) can be disposed of in the green organics cart. According to the city, the cart must not be packed tight that it won’t empty when the truck tips it.
The larger branches cannot go into the green cart as the composting plant can’t process it. If there are large branches in the green cart, it won’t be picked up on collection day.
Larger tree branches and debris can be taken one of the local depots: Alpine Disposal and Recycling, the Nanaimo Regional Landfill, DBL Disposal, Pacific Coast Waste Management, MacNutt Enterprises and Sharecost Rentals & Sales. Tipping fees will apply.
Most of the city parks and trails are open to the public except Beban Park Golf Course Trail and the Parkway Trail. Crews have been unable to clear the large debris from these locations. Cleanup is expected to continue into January.
“The unprecedented wind storm last Thursday has created quite a mess. The city has been working closely with BC Hydro, Shaw Cable and Telus to ensure all utility lines have been powered down and are safe before city crews open roadways. Biggs Road at Deerwood Estates still remains closed, otherwise, all other city roadways are open. The community has really pulled together throughout this major storm event and we appreciate everyone’s efforts and cooperation during the clean-up stage,” John Elliot, Nanaimo public works senior manager, said in a statement.
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