Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Green Bin Program?The Green Bin Program is a new curbside service that collects residential food and kitchen waste (food scraps and food-soiled or wax-coated paper products). A local licensed composting facility will convert food waste into fertilizer, compost and eventually renewable fuels.
Residents will find using their green bin an easy way to send much less garbage to the landfill, turn food waste into a renewable resource and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste collection enhances home composting and complements recycling, providing a service that enables households to divert 70 per cent of their waste for processing into new products.
The Green Bin Program is an integral part of the region's Zero Waste Plan, and a key step in achieving the overall goal of diverting 75 per cent of the region's waste from the landfill. Local studies have shown that food waste and compostable paper makes up approximately 50 per cent of household garbage. By using their Green Bin to collect and put out food waste at the curbside, households will:
- Reduce the region's dependence on landfill disposal, help ensure its only landfill can keep working for residents for years to come and;
- Take action on climate change by keeping methane-causing organic waste out of the landfill;
- Be a part of a local, sustainable solution to waste management. A landfill has a limited lifespan, while a composting facility can continue to process our food and other organic waste indefinitely and create finished compost - a beneficial, renewable resource; and
- Make the region a leader with one of Canada's lowest annual per capita waste disposal rates. A one-year pilot project conducted between October 2007 and October 2008 tested the equipment and confirmed the diversion potential, participation levels and acceptance of the Green Bin Program.
Local governments across Canada have recognized curbside food waste collection as an effective way to reduce the largest remaining component of household waste. In 2006, Ladysmith became the first municipality in BC to launch a Green Bin program. Pilot programs began in 2006 in the municipalities of Oak Bay and View Royal. In March 2011, the City of Duncan expanded residential garbage and recycling collection to include curbside compost. In the lower mainland, the communities of Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Richmond have introduced residential food waste collection programs and Vancouver recently began collecting non-cooked food waste.
No, the Green Bin Program is part of the mandatory curbside service which also includes garbage and recycling collection for all single family homes.
Service for newly constructed homes is activated with the issuance of building occupancy permits.
No, the Green Bin Program is part of the mandatory curbside service. If you choose not to use your green bin to recycle food and kitchen waste, your garbage limit (i.e. one container of garbage collected every two weeks) will be the same as those who do participate, and you will be billed for the complete service.
Materials accepted in the green bin include plate scrapings, meat, fish and poultry, bones, dairy products and wax-coated or soiled paper products such as takeout food containers and cups, paper towels and tissues. These materials are unsuitable for home composting. Compostable food and kitchen waste and compostable paper makes up to 50 per cent of household garbage by weight. (Click here for complete list of acceptable/unacceptable materials.)
New "split-packer" collection vehicles enable garbage and food waste or recyclables and food waste to be collected in a single truck. The new trucks will have two compartments to ensure the separation of materials. Using one truck on collection routes means less vehicle emissions and no additional labour requirements for the Green Bin Program.
Glass food and beverage containers are not accepted in order to prevent contamination when paper, metal, and plastic recyclables are collected in a single stream and compacted in a split-packer truck. Options for drop-off of non-deposit glass containers include the Parkville Bottle Depot, Nanaimo Recycling Exchange, Gabriola Recycling Organization (all no charge). You can also drop off non-deposit glass at the Church Road Transfer Station and the Regional Landfill though a $5 fee applies at both facilities.
Compostable bags are created from plant starches and are specifically designed to break down during the composting process. To be certified as compostable, they must biodegrade in compost at a similar rate as paper products, must disintegrate so that no particles are visible within the compost and must not create any toxic residues while they biodegrade. Do not use plastic or biodegradable bags, as they are not designed to disintegrate adequately at the composting plant and may leave toxic residues within the finished compost.
If you choose not to use a liner bag, you can place food waste directly into your kitchen container and rinse or wash as needed. Other options include wrapping food waste in newspaper, using paper food bags, cereal boxes or a paper milk carton (plastic spout removed) to collect food scraps. This, along with frequent rinsing, will help keep containers clean.
A growing number of retailers are stocking compostable bags suitable for use in the food waste collection program. These include:
- Fairway Market
- 49th Parallel Grocery
- The Green Store (Port Place Mall)
- Thrifty Foods
- Wal-Mart
- Save On Foods
- Quality Foods
- Shoppers Drug Mart (Country Club store)
- Naked Naturals Whole Foods (Parksville)
- Zellers
- Home Depot
- Canadian Tire
- London Drugs
- Home Hardware
- and other supermarkets and retailers in the region such as some of the janitorial/cleaning supply outlets.
Households are not charged for the initial distribution of green bins and kitchen catchers. Because the Green Bin Program conserves landfill capacity, the cost of purchasing green bins and kitchen catchers for initial distribution is being funded through the RDN Solid Waste Reserve Fund.
Replacement green bins (due to loss or damage) will be subject to a cost-recovery charge.
Broken or damaged kitchen containers (the beige container) are not being replaced. There are however many simple and inexpensive alternatives available if your kitchen catcher needs replacing.
Regional District and municipal staff estimated that if all single-family homes in the region participated, the green bin food waste collection program could divert 6,000 tonnes of food and kitchen annually from the landfill. During the first full year (November 2010 to October 2011), with just one third of the City of Nanaimo homes plus all RDN serviced homes participating, 3,400 tonnes were diverted. This equates to 2 kilograms of food waste per household per week being diverted to composting.
In October 2011, the remaining 17,500 homes in the City of Nanaimo received their green bins. There are now 52,000 homes in the region on the program and the target of 6,000 tonnes should be met in the second year of operations.
By actively participating in both the Green Bin and the curbside recycling program most residents have noticed a significant reduction in their garbage. Even with a large family, the amount of dry material that needs to be stored for two weeks should be greatly reduced.
As in the past, a change in the number of household members, such as infants and the use of disposable diapers, will affect the amount of waste you produce. Or extra garbage might result from houseguests and family celebrations.
An extra container of garbage can be placed at the curb with a $2 Extra Garbage Tag attached. The need to buy tags for additional garbage depends on the kind of waste you generate and your level of participation in the Green Bin Program, curbside recycling and other waste reduction alternatives.
Food and kitchen waste collection is limited to one green bin pick-up per week. Save your excess materials until the next collection day. By composting suitable materials in your backyard compost bin, you can reduce the load on your green bin.
There is no need to wait until your green bin is full. Put it out weekly even if it is not full.
Some materials in the green bin or kitchen catcher may cause slight odours just as they would if placed in your garbage can. Here are some tips that can help prevent odours:
- Empty your kitchen catcher frequently by transferring contents to your green bin.
- Don't leave food waste exposed and keep your green bin and kitchen catcher lids tightly closed.
- Wash your kitchen catcher and green bin with hot water and bio-degradable detergent.
- To absorb moisture, line the bottom of your green bin and kitchen catcher with newspaper, a paper bag or paper towel.
- Freeze meat, fish, poultry or bones and put these materials in your green bin on your collection day.
- Prevent odours by sprinkling a small amount of baking soda, garden lime or vinegar in your containers.
- Store your green bin in a secure, cool, ventilated location.
- Put your green bin out for collection every week even if it is not full.
During 2007, food waste pilot project participants reported very few problems with their green bin attracting animals and rodents. To avoid attracting pests, keep the green bin lid securely closed and take your green bin to the curb earlier by 8 a.m. on your collection day. If you live in an area with known bear interactions, information on this factsheet will be useful.
Yes. Please mark your green bin with your street number to identify it with your home. If you are a tenant, or if you sell your home and move away, please leave the food waste containers at the home for the next tenant or resident.
City of Nanaimo residents should call Public Works at 250-758-5222.
Households located outside the City of Nanaimo, (RDN Electoral Areas, District of Lantzville, City of Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach) should call 1-866-999-8227.
Your green bin will be tagged and not collected if materials are bagged in plastic or biodegradable bags or it contains unacceptable materials such as yard waste, plastic, glass, Styrofoam, metals or pet waste.
Food waste and other acceptable household compostable waste will go to ICC Group's processing facility, located at Duke Point in Nanaimo. The fully enclosed plant uses organic material including yard and garden waste, and household and commercial food waste. These materials are mixed and composted using an aerobic, in-vessel process that generates sufficient heat to kill pathogens. The finished products include compost, fertilizers, and soil amendments, all of which meet the BC Organic Matter Recycling Regulation. ICC is testing a process to produce renewable fuels from organic materials.
Bulk compost and fertilizer produced can be purchased at Alpine Soil Mart (2250 McGarrigle Road, Nanaimo, phone 250-755 1161) or First Choice Landscape Supply (925 Fairdowne Road, Errington).
The Green Bin Program diverts organic (food and kitchen) waste from the landfill to a composting facility. When organic waste decomposes in a landfill's anaerobic (in the absence of oxygen) environment methane is produced. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. At the ICC Group's composting facility, food and kitchen waste is processed aerobically (in the presence of oxygen) preventing methane generation.
Compost is a dark, earthy material that looks, feels, and smells like rich soil. It is an effective soil conditioner that improves soil structure, retains moisture and returns nutrients. Compost is a renewable resource that adds value to what was waste by returning composted kitchen waste to the soil in landscaping and agricultural applications.
Curbside food waste collection will accept meat, fish, bones, grains, dairy products and soiled and wax-coated paper; materials unsuitable for backyard composting because they can attract rats and other pests. The Residential Food Waste Collection Pilot Project showed that even on routes with high rates of home composting, households significantly reduced their garbage by putting out the wide range of compostable materials accepted in their green bin.
Please continue to compost materials such as yard and garden waste and fruit and vegetable peelings in your backyard composting bin. Home composting is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recycle these materials and produce a beneficial soil supplement for your yard and garden. You will want to use your green bin for meat and fish scraps, food-soiled paper products, bread and other items that aren't suitable for backyard composting. Click here for a full list of acceptable materials.
Collecting food waste in your green bin is more cost effective and environmentally-sound than using a garburator. Disposing of food waste in a garburator uses excess water and electricity and puts an added load on sewage treatment facilities where it must be processed at a higher cost than composting. Waste from garburators ends up in sewage treatment facilities where it can clog filters, increase requirements for more chemical processing and decrease the quality of effluent that is eventually discharged into the Strait of Georgia. When you collect food waste in your green bin instead of using a garburator, your household organic materials become a valuable resource that will be turned into a useful saleable product -- compost for landscaping, agriculture and in your garden.
At this time only existing RDN customers in single family homes, town homes and mobile home parks who receive curbside collection service participate in the Green Bin Program.
Residents of multi-family complexes, such as apartment and condo developments, can discuss food waste collection options with their strata council, building manager, and garbage hauler.