Green Bin

Lining the green bin helps to ensure that all the material in it gets collected, and helps keep your bin clean. There are two choices for lining your green bin:

1. Paper liner bags. Paper bags do not need certification logos. While there are paper bags made specifically for green bin use, any paper bag is acceptable.  Some green-bin specific paper bags have a shiny cellulose lining to give them more wet strength; these are safe to use in our program.  
2. Certified compostable plastic liner bags: These bags are the only type of plastic that is allowed in the green bin, and are identified by specific logos. These bags must have at least one of these logos:

TIP! If you have extra organics occasionally, place one paper or certified compostable plastic bag of organics on top of your green bin for collection. If you have extra organics on a regular basis, pick up an additional green bin from the Region.

To gather organics in your kitchen (and other rooms, such as facial tissues from your bathrooms) use or reuse a container with a tight-fitting lid. Options include reusing a plastic ice cream tub, purchasing kitchen containers from local hardware/home improvement stores.

Note:  Do not set out kitchen containers for collection.

Broken green bins are recyclable. Please drop it off and pick up a free replacement (while supplies last) at one of our Waste Management Administration offices:

• 201 Savage Drive, Cambridge (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• 925 Erb Street West, Gate 1, Waterloo (Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

1. Place a container in the kitchen to collect organics in a handy spot, such as on the kitchen counter. Put other containers or paper bags in each bathroom.
2. Write your address on your green bin in permanent marker.
3. Set your green bin in a convenient, well-ventilated, shady area, like the garage.
4. Place a paper egg carton or balled up newsprint in the bottom of your green bin so contents do not get stuck when collection crews are trying to empty it.
5. Post information about green bin recycling on your bulletin board or put our Green Bin program magnet on your fridge. (If you need copies of these materials, please call 519-575-4400.)
6. Discuss green bin recycling with your family.

• Repurpose a lidded container that you may already have, such as a plastic ice cream container or kitty litter bucket.
• Purchase a small lidded bucket or kitchen organics container from local hardware or home improvement stores. Available in plastic, metal/stainless steel, etc.

If you want to line your green bin, you have two choices:

1. Paper liner bags. Paper bags do not need certification logos. Some paper bags have a shiny cellulose lining to give them more wet strength and are safe to use in our program.
2. Certified compostable plastic (CCP) liner bags: These bags are the only type of plastic that is allowed in the program and are identified by specific logos. These bags must have at least one of these logos:

Beware! There are other bags that look like CCP bags, but are not acceptable. Generally, if the label says "biodegradable", "oxo degradable" or "degradable", they are not certified, do not fully compost, and are not accepted in our program.

If you can't find a certified compostable plastic logo, do not buy it for your green bin.

When you use certified compostable plastic liner bags:

• Do not double bag.
• Roll or twist the top of the bag; avoid knots. Knots do not compost well.
• Place the logo so it is visible, if possible. This helps collection staff know that it is the correct plastic.

• Put crumpled balls of newspaper, a paper egg carton or a paper takeout drink tray at the bottom of your green bin.
• Add a layer of shredded paper or facial tissues in between layers of food scraps.
• Line your kitchen container with a Do-it-Yourself liner.
• Use paper bags you get from take-out food, grocery stores, etc.

Backyard composting can complement the green bin!

• Items such as meat, bones and sauces that can attract pests in the yard are accepted in the green bin.
• Some residents using backyard composters choose to give themselves a break over the winter and use the green bin while their composters are buried in the snow.

• Cover food scraps with a layer of paper waste, such as shredded paper or facial tissues.
• Deter flies by smearing citronella, an essential oil, on the outside rim of your containers.
• Use natural deodorizers such as baking soda and white vinegar.
• For fruit flies, spray the bin with a mixture of half white vinegar and half water.

Do not use chemical pesticides.

For more tips on how to prevent and control pests, check out our flyer.

• Grease the inside of your green bin with vegetable oil.
• Drain liquids before you put food scraps in your green bin. No more than one cup of liquid should be put in your green bin.
• Put crumpled balls of newspaper, a paper egg carton or a paper takeout drink tray at the bottom of your green bin.
• Layer food waste with paper waste (e.g. shredded paper).
• Do not set out your green bin the night before collection. Instead, set it out by 7 a.m. on your collection day to lessen the chances of it freezing completely.
• If you use a green bin liner bag, loosen it from the sides of the bin when you set it out for collection.
• When it snows, place your green bin at street level by shoveling a flat area close to the curb at the end of your driveway.

There are a number of commons reasons why items are not collected, including by-laws and bans.

If you have concerns about your collection, please contact our Call Centre at 519-575-4400, available 24 hours a day, every day.

Collection crews drop off green bin organics at Region of Waterloo facilities. Organics are then loaded into large trucks and shipped in bulk to the City of Guelph's Organic Waste Processing facility. At Guelph's facility, your organics are mixed with other organics, shredded and put into a tunnel. The conditions in the tunnel are monitored to maximize the breakdown of the organics with oxygen. After three to four weeks, the compost is screened to separate the best of the finished compost, and then put into long piles called windrows for up to two months to "cure". The high-grade finished compost is sold to various markets, including local farmers.

Pet waste in the green bin has to be wrapped to protect the health and safety of our collection crews. Using CCP bags is one way to wrap pet waste.

Staff visited some stores recently and found certified compostable CCP pet waste bags at the locations listed below.

Beware! There are other bags that look like CCP bags, but are not acceptable. Generally, if the label says "biodegradable", "oxo degradable" or "degradable", they are not certified, do not fully compost, and are not accepted in our program.

If you find CCP pet waste bags at another store, please email us.