New curbside contractor in Chilliwack looks to solve garbage fiasco by hiring more drivers at over $27/hour

CHILLIWACK – The new curbside collection contractor for the City of Chilliwack is looking to solve at least part of the ongoing garbage debacle by hiring additional drivers at over $27/hour.

According to a job posting on Indeed, Environmental 360 Solutions Ltd. (E360S) says it is looking for temporary two-month Class 5 drivers with a Q (air brake) endorsement for its Chilliwack location. The position calls for drivers to operate a five-ton box truck for waste pickup.

The posted wage is $27.50 an hour.

The company expects successful applicants to do the following once hired:

• Operate class 5 vehicle types for the collection.
• Complete pre-trip and post-trip inspections and reports, daily truck report, route sheets and other documentation requested by the operations manager daily
• Communicate vehicle mechanical problems to mechanic and operations manager immediately. Operate truck and equipment using prescribed techniques to eliminate driver-induced mechanical failures.
• Follow safety standards, equipment checks and precautions in performance of all duties. Comply with all federal, provincial, and local rules on safety and vehicle operation.
• Maintain a clean vehicle by cleaning cab interior and exterior of vehicle.
• Attend daily safety meetings as per site requirements.

The company estimates the position is 40 per cent physical labour and 60 per cent driving.

E360S admitted in its Indeed job posting that it might use automated or artificial intelligence-based tools in a “limited way” to support the initial screening and organization of applications, but all hiring decisions are made by its recruitment and management teams.

In the meantime, the fallout from the curbside collection fiasco continues. Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove told 89.5 JR Country morning host Glen Slingerland last Thursday (May 21) that the city has hired former contractor Emterra to assist with curbside collection, and urged E360S to immediately add more staff, something they appear to be doing through this job posting.

File photo, Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove. (Image Credit: City of Chilliwack.)

“The rollout has been less than spectacular, let’s just say that,” Popove said. “From all parts of the city, they missed this, they missed that, they didn’t come back to pick up. We’ve hired Emterra to come and pick up the recycling just so they can catch up. That’s on their dime (referring to E360S). They’re bringing in three more trucks, we’ve really pushed for a swamper on the trucks.”

The city has also considered fining E360S and transferring those revenues to customers whose curbside materials have not been collected in May.

Popove said the model employed by E360S is not ideal.

“If you’ve watched how they work, they pull up to a set of cans, the driver has to get out, walk around the truck, hook on, put them up, get back in the truck and drive 30 feet,” he said.

He also pushed back against the idea that the city can just bring back Emterra.

“People are saying online go back to Emterra. Well, it’s not that easy. We’re gonna continue to work with these folks,” he said, alluding to E360S. “We’ll probably be laying out some fines. People aren’t getting the service they’re paying for. We as council have instructed staff to see how we can reimburse some monies to residents.”

As it pertains to old bins, Popove said the city could contract with a different company to have those retrieved.

“They were supposed to be picked up. We talked in council on Tuesday (May 19) and said, let’s maybe contract that out and send them the bill. Because there’s cans all over the place,” Popove said. “It was an interesting week with the garbage stuff there. I’m really hoping for a quiet next couple weeks. It’s gotta get better. Man, my inbox is just overflowing.”