Green bins set to make Ottawa debut
In addition to regular garbage, blue and grey bins, the city will begin collecting organic waste from green bins on Jan. 4 in a program that will cost the city $13.6 million annually.
For residents such as Gillian Graham Bevan, who likes the idea of keeping organic waste out of the garbage stream more than the practice, the city's move is welcome.
"I'm really glad the city's doing it," she said. "It's been a long time coming. I have friends in Toronto and they're totally into it."
What's in, what's out
According to the City of Ottawa, approximately 45 per cent of the garbage (by weight) set out by the average Ottawa household is compostable organic material that can be put into the green bin.
The green bin can take many different types of organic waste, including leaves and yard cuttings, food-soiled paper products, used tissues, meat, dairy products, cooking oil and kitty litter, the city says. However, diapers and plastics are banned.
City staff are working with the industrial, commercial and institutional sector to promote composting at the composting facility.
Graham Bevan is no stranger to composting, but found the process difficult.
"It was a hassle — the mess, not knowing where to store the stuff," the mother of three said. "And the smell, and just not getting [it] out every day. And then when I would go out sometimes [to the composter] there was rats. And there was one day where — I don't know what people put in there, but there were a lot of bugs."
On Monday, Graham Bevan and the rest of Ottawa will be putting their organic waste into beige indoor bins and transferring it into green bins that will be picked up by the city.
"I like it because it will really force us to look at the way we are eating," she said. "When I was composting religiously I noticed what was getting thrown out, whereas when it goes into the garbage you don't think about it."
Organic materials collected through the program will be sent to a state-of-the-art processing plant and converted into nutrient-rich compost ideal for agricultural use, according to a city website.
Since the compost processing facility won't be ready for operation until Jan. 27, the organic waste will be delivered to compost processing facilities near Kingston and Moose Creek, the city says.