Green Bin Use & Tips
- All food waste, whether fresh, frozen, dried, prepared, cooked or spoiled, can be placed in the Green Bin.
- Line your kitchen catcher (i.e. indoor organics container) or Green Bin (not both) with any plastic bag (e.g. grocery, milk, produce).
- Twist or loosely tie the plastic bag (no twist ties)
How do you dispose of organic waste properly?
Composting and conversion are the most common ways to safely manage organic waste. Composting breaks waste down until it becomes nutrient-rich fertilizer. Some businesses may have the resources and motivation to do onsite composting, though many don’t.
Where does organic waste go in Toronto?
From Curbside to Compost
Once collected, organics are brought to a transfer station and then sent to an organics processing facility. The City owns two organics processing facilities, Disco and Dufferin.
How do I dispose of garden waste in Toronto?
The City picks up yard waste every other week on garbage collection day from mid-March to mid-December as well as Christmas trees in January. Yard waste can also be taken to one of the City’s Drop-Off Depots year-round.
What is considered organic waste in Ontario?
“Organic waste” refers to all food waste, some paper items, and small quantities of other organic items (e.g. indoor plants).
Can organic waste be thrown into the sink?
Bottom line: kitchen scraps are best not ground up and washed down the drain. Removing them from the sewage stream costs money and not removing them is hard on the aquatic environment. When organic materials are removed from wastewater, they are often sent to the local landfill.
What counts as organic waste?
Examples of organic waste include green waste, food waste, food-soiled paper, non-hazardous wood waste, green waste, and landscape and pruning waste. When organic waste is dumped in landfills, it undergoes anaerobic decomposition (due to the lack of oxygen) and produces methane.
What happens to organic waste in landfills?
Anaerobic decomposition of organic materials in landfills produces methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas with global warming potential approximately 85 times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year time period.
Does Toronto have a composting program?
The City’s Green Bin program helps keep waste out of landfill by collecting and processing organics into material that can be used to create nutrient-rich compost used to feed and nourish soil.
Can cat litter go in Green Bin Toronto?
NOTE: if you have lined your green bin with a bag (either plastic or paper) place the litter directly in the BIN, unbagged; if you do NOT line your green bin with a plastic/paper bag, then be sure to place the litter in a plastic/paper bag BEFORE you put it in the bin).
Can you put leaves in green bin Toronto?
Scrape your plates of organic waste materials directly into your green bins; in addition, you can toss cooking oils, fats and grease – along with greasy paper towels. Yard wastes acceptable for green bin recycling include leaves and plants, small twigs, hedge clippings, weeds, cones and needles, hay, straw and flowers.
Can I take garden waste to local tip?
You can also take garden waste to your local household waste and recycling centre.
What can I do with shredded garden waste?
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to make use of it.
- Add It to the Compost Pile. All types of garden waste will do nicely in a compost pile.
- Spread Mulch in Your Garden Beds. If you have been shredding mostly wood and branches, you’ll have a fine pile of wood chips at the end of the day.
- Till It Under.
- Animal Bedding.
Is organic waste the same as compost?
The composting process requires organic waste, such as leaves, grass, fruit and vegetable scraps, soil (which contains microorganisms), water and oxygen. The microorganisms eat the organic waste, breaking it down into its simplest components.
What are the two main organic wastes?
Urea, uric acid, and creatinine are the most important organic compounds.
Do organic materials decompose in garbage dumps?
“Organics can’t break down in a landfill because they’re designed for storage, not decomposition.” A lack of oxygen in landfills also impedes organic materials from biodegrading.
How long does it take for organic waste to break down?
Food Waste
But how long does it take for food to decompose? Most vegetables can range from 5 days to 1 month, an apple core or a banana peel will take +1 month. While an orange peel will take +6 months. Pistachio shells are another one that takes a long time, while composting it could take 3+ years.
Can you put water in organic waste?
Water allows the microbes in your compost pile to grow and travel around in the pile to decompose materials. Turning your pile each week with a spade or pitch- fork will provide air to aid decomposition and control odors.
What really happens to the organic waste you put in your compost bin?
Composting is a biological process during which naturally occurring microorganisms, bacteria and insects break down organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings and certain kitchen scraps into a soil-like product called compost. It is a form of recycling, a natural way of returning needed nutrients to the soil.
Is Poo an organic waste?
Dog poop is organic waste, fully compostable when placed in the right conditions. For a normal, well-managed home compost, home compostable poop bags will fully decompose after approximately 1 year.
Which is one of the most popular forms of true organic waste?
Most organic wastes can be successfully composted (Table 24.3). For example, paper and food wastes often comprise 50% of municipal solid waste (MSW). Both are well suited to composting.
Compostable substrates.
| Compostable materials | Bulking agents |
|---|---|
| Lawn clippings | Wood chips/tree trimmings/bark |
| Garden trimmings | Leaves |