Food Waste Composting

Materials Collected

Food waste is to be separated from the regular garbage and set out along the curb each week in a large green bin. This food waste material will be composted, rather than landfilled, at a facility in Pickering.

Food Waste:

Fruits and vegetables, table scraps, meat, fish, poultry, bones, dairy products, fat, bread, rice, pasta, coffee grounds, filters, tea bags, eggshells, etc.

Paper Fibre:

Paper egg cartons, fast food drink trays, paper food cartons, paper plates and cups, soiled paper towels, and tissues and serviettes.

Other Compostable Items:

House plants, flowers, sawdust and wood shavings, bedding from pet cages, dryer lint and hair.

Materials Not Collected

Green Bin Education and Compliance Program

Media Releases

• New campaign helps ensure Durham Regions Green Bin program continues to produce top-quality compost
  Wednesday, October 07, 2009
• Are your Green Bin liner bags compostable?
  Tuesday, October 13, 2009
• Reduce your waste by composting
  Monday, October 19, 2009
• Residents reminded to help produce top-quality compost by using 100 per cent certified compostable bags in the green bin
  Friday, March 5, 2010
  

Kitchen Food Waste Container

Put the container in your kitchen in a convenient place. Some residents will keep it on the kitchen counter, while others will prefer to place it under the kitchen sink.

Place a 100 per cent certified compostable liner bag, paper bag or newspaper inside this container. Empty your food waste directly into the liner bag. When odours are noticeable, or the liner bag is nearly full, tie the liner bag closed. To avoid spills and for ease of composting, carry your kitchen container and its contents to where you keep your curbside green bin.

Curbside Green Bin

The large curbside green bin should be used to store food waste from the kitchen container, and will be set out at the curb for weekly collection.

Store the curbside green bin in a convenient location in the garage or shed, usually near the garbage can.

You may line the bottom of the curbside green bin with newspaper as a dry absorbent liner. Newspaper is compostable and will help minimize any odours and leakage.

On collection day, lock the lid, and place the green bin and its contents at the curb before 7 a.m.

Replacement Green Bin

With proper care, curbside and kitchen green bins should last for many years. Each container is stamped with a production date on the bottom. If your Durham Region issued curbside or kitchen green bin cracks or breaks from regular wear and tear, bring it to 4600 Garrard Rd. in Whitby, and you will receive another one.

Paper or Compostable Liner Bags Only

Residents who use liner bags should only use paper or compostable liner bags. These bags are 100 per cent compostable and are made from all natural products. You can purchase certified liner bags at retailers throughout the Region of Durham.

Paper Bags

Look for the logo

Please use bags that have one or both of the following logos on them:

Compostable Liner Bags

The following liner bags contain the compostable logo and are accepted in the Green Bin Program:

Unacceptable Liner Bags

The following liner bags are not accepted in the Green Bin Program:

• plastic green or blue recycling bags
• oxo-biodegradable or biodegradable plastic bags
• plastic shopping bags from retailers
• coloured garbage bags

Green Bins lined with unacceptable liner bags will not be collected.

The use of 100 per cent certified compostable liner bags, paper food waste bags, or food waste wrapped in newspaper is the way Durham Region produces top-quality compost. Certified compostable bags, those bearing the logos listed above, completely break down and become part of the finished compost.

Liner bags advertised as biodegradable or oxo biodegradable are not compostable. They are plastic-based bags that do not break down, resulting in residues that reduce the quality of finished compost. When these bags are spotted inside the green bin, the waste collector tags the container and leaves the materials at the curb. Therefore, even though these bags may be advertised as acceptable for use in municipal programs, they will not be collected in Durham Region.

Remember: Finished compost is offered back to Durham Region residents for use on their lawns and gardens through yearly spring compost giveaway events.