The time for St. John’s residents to switch to clear garbage backs is ticking down.

The City of St. John’s is imposing new regulations surrounding garbage collection, and effectively making recycling mandatory as of January 1.

Residents will be required to use clear, colourless bags for the garbage that is put out to the curb, with the exception of one “privacy” bag per week that can be in a non-transparent, or black bag.

According to the city, clear bags allow collectors to assess the bag for items that should have been placed in recycling instead.