|
Home > Organics
The GreenBin
Curbside Organics Program
Over 1.7 million Ontario households are already participating in similar curbside organics programs, with great success. Perth has joined that list of progressive municipalities, helping us to reach, and hopefully exceed, the provincial waste diversion target of 60%. Using your GreenBin can divert an additional 250 kg per year!
Downloads:
GreenBin InfoCard (224 KB)
Collection Schedule
Frequently Asked Questions
To find out more about this effective new program please click on the questions:
Why is Perth Launching this program?
- Organics (which includes food, soiled paper products and pet wastes) make up close to half of what is left in the residential waste stream
- Collecting organics curbside is therefore the obvious next step in diverting residential waste from landfill
- This will help extend the life of the Perth Landfill site, and delay the sharp increases in costs that will come when the landfill is full
- Diverting organics from the landfill also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, in particular methane, which is over 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide
- Over 1.7 million households in Ontario are already participating in successful curbside organics programs
What do I have to do to participate?
- Scrape all your organics (which includes food, soiled paper products and pet wastes) into the kitchen pail
- Once it is full, empty it into your green curbside cart
- Put your cart out at the curb on the morning of your collection day
What can I put in the pail and cart?
- All food waste, including:
-
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Meat and dairy products
- Leftovers
- Bread, grains, pasta
- Processed foods and sauces
- Large items (pumpkins, turkey carcasses, corn etc)
- Soiled paper products
-
- Paper towels and tissues
- Dirty pizza boxes
- Paper or boxboard soiled with food
- Pet Waste (LOOSE - NOT IN PLASTIC BAGS!)
-
- Kitty litter
- Other pet wastes
What CAN’T I put in the pail and cart
- Any plastic or metal
- Fireplace ashes
- Cigarette butts
- Motor oil
- Brush and yard waste
- Paper drinking cups
- Biodegradable or compostable bags
- Biodegradable or compostable plates, cups or cutlery
Do all houses need to have their carts out by 7:00 am?
No. The organics and garbage collection contractor will be running fixed routes, so once you see when he comes down your street, that should stay constant, and you just need to make sure to have that particular waste stream out a half hour before his regular collection time. However, there are a few residents who will need to have their GreenBin or garbage out by 7:00 am, and we strongly encourage them to find a way to accommodate that.
Can I put my GreenBin out the night before?
No, (unless absolutely unavoidable) because that creates a potential target for raccoons and other animals, even bears.
What can I do about maggots in my bin?
Sometimes, in hot weather, you may find maggots in your GreenBin. Maggots come from eggs laid by flies – most commonly on raw meats. They need moisture and warmth, so if they bug you, wrap any raw meats in newspaper so the flies have less chance to lay their eggs. If you can, store your green bin in your garage or at least in the shade, where it is a little cooler. Also, periodically rinse out your kitchen catcher and GreenBin.
How do I keep raccoons and other critters from getting into my cart?
- Securely latch the locking handle
- If problems persist, secure with a bungee cord or specific lid security devices available at hardware stores
- If possible, keep you cart in your garage, enclosed porch, or mud room until collection day.
How do I keep my pail and cart from getting messy?
- For your pail: Line your beige kitchen pail with a few sheets of newspaper or paper towel.
- For your cart: Crumple some newspaper and set it at the bottom of the green cart, then add a few sheets of flattened newspaper to create a simple liner
- If desired, you can buy PAPER bag liners for your pail and/or cart at local hardware and grocery stores
- You can put materials such as food or kitty litter into used cereal boxes and then put the cereal box in your cart
- Wrap particularly messy items in newspaper before adding them to your pail or cart
- Rinse your pail and cart periodically
Why can’t I use compostable or biodegradable liner bags?
- Perth is processing the collected materials at a low-tech (and low cost) open windrow compost site at the Perth Landfill, and any contamination by plastic will create major problems with the processing and end product
- One of the problems is that compostable bags look much like any other bag, and the driver will have no quick way of knowing if the bag(s) in the cart are compostable or not.
- We will be doing some trials to see how compostable bags, cups and dinnerware break down in our facility, but until we have made sure they won’t create a problems, we cannot accept them curbside
Should I put my cart out every week?
- If it is at least half full, yes, but if there is only a bit in it, you might wait a week, unless it is hot out and the cart is getting smelly
I have a large family and generate a lot of organics every week. Can I get a second cart?
- You can purchase a second cart from the Town (or local hardward stores)
- You can put up to two carts out at the curb, as long as you are not using the second cart for yard waste (grass clippings, leaves, brush)
What about yard wastes?
- The new GreenBin program is not designed to deal with yard waste (grass clippings, leaves, brush)
- We ask residents to continue to deal with yard waste as they have been – grasscycling, backyard composting, using the leaf and Christmas tree collection days, or bringing the material to the yard waste processing area at the Perth Landfill site
- Topping up your cart with small amounts of yard waste is acceptable – just make sure not to include any brush.
Why can’t we put brush or large amounts of yard waste in the carts?
- Brush needs to be ground up before it can compost, and the material coming from the new GreenBin program goes directly into composting windrows, without any grinding.
- The GreenBin program is not a cost-effective way to handle the large swings in seasonal leaf and yard waste
- Grass clippings are best left on the lawn (mulching)
- Leaves can be set out at specific leaf collection days
I’ve heard some programs accept diapers. Can we put diapers in our carts?
- No. The only programs that accept diapers are ones that are large enough to be able to afford large multi-million dollar anaerobic digestor processing facilities. Perth’s low tech and low cost windrow composting facility cannot handle diapers.
- You should know that Perth now has a convenient and cost-effective reusable diaper supply and service company, called Sweet Peach (613 267-1411).
Does the GreenBin program replace backyard composting?
- No, backyard composting is still the best (and cheapest) way to deal with those organics that can be dealt with in backyard composters.
- However, the new curbside program can deal with many materials that you would not normally backyard compost, like meat and dairy products, processed foods and sauces, paper products, tissues, other fibres, and pet wastes.
- Keep your existing pail in the kitchen for things that can go in the backyard composter, and use the new pail for the additional compostable materials.
I live in an apartment. How do I participate?
- Because of site-specific issues with respect to apartments, the Town is phasing in the launch of the GreenBin program to apartment residents.
- Once you get your GreenBin kit, keep the pail somewhere handy in the kitchen, and add food scraps, soiled papers and tissues and pet wastes.
- Then find a good place for your cart (either in your unit or somewhere else that works for other tenants and building management).
- Make sure to write your apartment number on your cart so it doesn’t get mixed up with other carts.
- Make sure to take your cart out to the approved curbside location on your collection day, and bring your cart back that day, after it is emptied.
I lost my cart – what do I do?
- Unfortunately, the Town’s policy is to only give out the first cart and pail for free. You can buy a replacement cart at Town Hall at the wholesale cost of $15 and a pail for $5. Carts, pails and liner bags are also available locally at Canadian Tire and Home Hardware.
My cart was broken by the truck driver – can I get a replacement one for free?
- If you bring your broken cart into Town Hall during office hours, you can get a replacement one for free.
I just moved to Perth and there was no cart or pail in the house. How do I get one?
- You can pick up a cart and pail, together with the basic information kit on Perth’s waste management programs from Town Hall during regular office hours.
|
