Monday December 22, 2025 | LANGFORD, BC [Posted at 10:31 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
City of Langford municipal council at their December 15, 2025 regular council meeting approved measures to better manage waste collection in the community.
They directed staff to explore options for garbage collection by a single private garbage collection company.
The decision follows growing concerns about overflowing public garbage cans in public areas which is unsightly and unsanitary and unbecoming of a modernizing community.
The City believes the can overflow is happening due to the city’s growing population, increased housing density in the downtown, and misuse of bins from people using them to dispose of household waste.
No in-house service to date:
Langford currently does not operate a municipal garbage collection service as is done in other municipalities like Victoria, Saanich, View Royal and Oak Bay.
Instead, waste pickup is managed by private contractors on an open-market basis.
Garbage and kitchen scrap collection businesses in the region include GFL Environmental Inc (some local ownership in a national franchise), Capital City Recycling (locally-owned on Vancouver Island), Waste Management (US-owned), and others.
Through research, the City says that staff found that residents in Langford are likely paying more, on average, annually for a private garbage collection service than residents in other B.C. municipalities where there is a municipally-managed or contracted bi-weekly garbage collection service.
This research also showed that the majority of municipalities in B.C. with a population over 20,000 have some level of involvement in garbage collection, whether it be a service run directly by the municipality or operated under a municipal contract.
Garbage collection currently not mandatory:
Because garbage collection in Langford is presently not mandatory, some residents may choose not to enter a private waste collection contract.
While some residents will take their garbage and kitchen scraps to local depots, it’s also seen that some residential waste is being dumped in public or commercial bins.
Benefits of a municipal service:
Langford with its own municipal garbage collection service would have benefits such as large-item pickup days and yard waste collection.
Public waste management action:
At their December 15 meeting, Council approved several key actions to improve waste management in the community:
- The service level for public waste receptacle collection will increase as required.
- A new style of receptacle will be introduced which features recycling racks, wildlife-resistant designs, and increased capacity in some areas.
- A consultant (with a $85,000 contract) will review and validate the staff recommendation for a municipally contracted residential curbside garbage collection service — if deemed feasible, the consultant will prepare a scope for a municipal garbage service contract, and draft a bylaw for a coordinated and centralized approach, in line with the CRD’s Solid Waste Management Plan.
Meeting livestream:
To learn more and watch the December 15, 2025 council meeting video, visit Langford.ca/Meetings.
The December 15 meeting started with a 1 hour 10 minute presentation about city parking, followed by questions from Council.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: LANGFORD | DISPOSAL & RECYCLING