Green bin and leaf and yard waste
On this page
- What goes in your green bin
- Green Bin Program – Curbside residential
- Green Bin Program – Apartment and multi-units
- How does the Green Bin program work?
- When is the green bin collected?
- Get a blue bin, black bin or green bin
- Green bin tips
- Leaf and yard waste
- Christmas trees
- Green Bins in Schools program
- Report a problem with green bin collection
What goes in your green bin
All food waste or scraps of any kind belong in your green bin.
This includes meat and fish, bones, egg shells, mouldy food etc. Not sure about where a material goes? Search the Waste Explorer.
Other acceptable items:
- Animal bedding (e.g. bird and hamster cages)
- Barbeque ashes
- Butcher’s meat wrap
- Cold fireplace ash
- Cotton balls
- Dog feces (must be contained in a sealed, leak-proof bag)
- Dryer lint
- Floor sweepings, vacuum bags and vacuum contents
- Food-soiled pizza boxes only (clean pizza boxes should go in the black bin)
- Household plants, including soil
- Kitty litter (soiled)
- Microwave popcorn bags
- Paper coffee cups, plates and muffin wrappers
- Pet fur, hair and feathers
- Soiled paper, boxboard and cardboard
- Soiled paper towels, napkins and tissues
- Sugar, flour and potato paper bags
- Waxed paper
- Wooden popsicle sticks and toothpicks
Note: During COVID-19, tissues and paper towels must be placed in a plastic bag to protect waste collection staff from the virus.
Yard waste
- Branches, twigs and hedge trimmings
- Leaves
- Plants and weeds
- Grass clippings
NOTE: Yard waste cannot be placed in any type of plastic bag including biodegradable or compostable bags.
Reuse Option
Leave your leaves! You can use them as a natural mulch. Rather than bagging leaves for curbside pick-up, put them in your gardens. This takes pressure off our waste collection crews throughout the pandemic. Plus, your flowerbeds will thank you in the spring.
Not allowed in the green bin
- Diapers and sanitary products
Green Bin Program – Curbside residential
Using the green bin takes advantage of weekly pickup, while garbage is collected bi-weekly.
Green Bin disposal options
Plastic bags can be used as a bagging option for household organics in the green bin. Pet waste is also accepted – including dog waste and kitty litter. Please note that dog feces must be contained in a sealed, leak-proof bag.
No need to purchase plastic or compostable bags. You can reuse common ones around your home:
- bread bags
- milk bags
- grocery and retail bags
The plastic bag option is just one of many that are tailored to our residents’ comfort level and interest. The other options include:
- Paper bags
- Newspaper linings in the kitchen counter container
How are organics in the plastic bags processed?
The organic waste facility has been retrofitted to rip open the plastic bags and separate the organic waste for composting. The plastic bags are then sent to landfill. The paper and compostable bags will begin to break down, along with the food and organic waste, while the material decomposes in the composting tunnels. Any paper and compostable bags that do not break down are screened from the compost. Smaller screened pieces may be recirculated through the process, bigger screened pieces are sent to landfill.
Can compostable or biodegradable bags be used to bag organic waste?
Plastic bags of any kind can be used to bag organic waste in the green bin. However, there is no need to purchase bags for this purpose. You can reuse common ones around your home. Compostable or biodegradable bags have no added benefit because they don’t break down fast enough during processing. Like all other plastic bags, they are separated from the organic waste and sent to the landfill.
Using the Green Bin: It’s in your best interest – environmentally and economically
Using the green bin, along with other recycling efforts, is one of the easiest things people can do to help our environment. Diverting organic waste from landfill lowers the amount methane – which contributes to greenhouse gases. In addition, diverting organic waste extends the life of the landfill – which saves millions of City dollars.
Green Bin Program – Apartment and multi-units
On April 27, 2022, Ottawa City Council approved a mandatory organics diversion program for all multi-residential properties. City staff are working with property owners, managers, and superintendents on a plan to bring green bins to all multi-residential properties. An update on this, including timelines for implementation, will be made available in early 2023.
Looking to participate in the Green Bin program now? Contact your property manager for more information or to get started.
Green Bin disposal options
Plastic bags can be used as a bagging option for household organics in the green bin. Pet waste is also accepted – including dog waste and kitty litter. No need to purchase plastic or compostable bags. You can reuse common ones around your home:
- bread bags
- milk bags
- grocery and retail bags
The plastic bag option is just one of many that are tailored to our residents’ comfort level and interest. The other options include:
- Paper bags
- Newspaper linings in the kitchen counter container
How are organics in the plastic bags processed?
The organic waste facility has been retrofitted to rip open the plastic bags and separate the organic waste for composting. The plastic bags are then sent to landfill. The paper and compostable bags will begin to break down, along with the food and organic waste, while the material decomposes in the composting tunnels. Any paper and compostable bags that do not break down are screened from the compost. Smaller screened pieces may be recirculated through the process, bigger screened pieces are sent to landfill.
Can compostable or biodegradable bags be used to bag organic waste?
Plastic bags of any kind can be used to bag organic waste in the green bin. However, there is no need to purchase bags for this purpose. You can reuse common ones around your home. Compostable or biodegradable bags have no added benefit because they don’t break down fast enough during processing. Like all other plastic bags, they are separated from the organic waste and sent to the landfill.
Using the Green Bin: It’s in your best interest – environmentally and economically
Using the green bin, along with other recycling efforts, is one of the easiest things people can do to help our environment. Diverting organic waste from landfill lowers the amount methane – which contributes to greenhouse gases. In addition, diverting organic waste extends the life of the landfill – which saves millions of City dollars.
How does the Green Bin program work?
Organics recycling is an important part of the City of Ottawa’s long term waste strategy. Diverting residential organic waste away from landfill saves the City millions of dollars by reducing the need for a new landfill site.
Roughly 45 per cent of Ottawa’s garbage (by weight) is compostable organic material that can be put into the green bin. Just as Ottawa residents separate recyclable materials from their garbage, the Green Bin program makes it easy to separate organics for curb-side pickup.
Use the small, specially-designed kitchen container to collect organic materials. Simply empty the organic contents of the kitchen container into the large green bin for curb-side pickup.
The organic material is brought to an indoor composting facility owned by Convertus located in an industrial park off of Hawthorne Road where it will be turned into compost and other beneficial reuse materials. The compost is used on farmer’s fields in Eastern Ontario.
Convertus is responsible for the marketing and sale of the finished compost and beneficial reuse materials. The City is entitled to receive 2,000 tonnes of the finished compost per calendar year.
Note that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) requires that odours not be detectable at the property boundary of the Convertus facility. Any odour complaints should be directed to the MOECC.
When is the green bin collected?
Your green bin is collected each and every week, 52 weeks a year.
Residents are reminded to put their green bin and recycling out with their garbage by 7 am for collection on their assigned pick-up day. Lock the lid to prevent animals and pests from getting into the bin. Leaf and yard waste can be used to top up the green bin. It can also be placed in a separate container such as an unused garbage can with the lid off to ensure that collection workers see the leaf and yard waste.