OTTAWA RECYLING FOOD WASTE (AND MORE)

Michael Graham Richard, Tree Hugger - Yesterday I got my green bin from the city of Ottawa. They've been handing them out to residents . . The collection of organic waste is set to begin in January 2010, and since about 45% of the waste collected by the city is compostable, and since anaerobic decomposition in landfills produces large quantities of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas), it has the potential to make a pretty big difference.

Unlike regular backyard composting, you can put almost anything in your green bin (this is because the large scale composting facilities that are used allow the organic matter to reach much higher temperatures, breaking things down faster than backyard heaps):

All leftover food scraps, Baking ingredients, herbs, spices, Bread, bagels, Candies, gum, Cereals, grains, oatmeal, Chips, popcorn, Coffee grounds, filters, Cookies, cakes, muffins, pastries, Crackers, Dairy products, Dough, Eggs and egg shells, Fruit scraps, Jams, jellies, marmalades, chutney, Leftover cooking oils, lard, shortening, fat, butter, margarine, Meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, pork (bones and scraps), Nuts and shells, Pasta, beans, rice, Peanut butter, Pet food, Pits (olives, cherries, peaches), Salad dressing, mayonnaise, vinegar, sauces, marinades, dips, syrup, gravy, Seeds, Syrup, Tea and tea bags, Vegetable scraps, ranches and twigs Garden and house plants, Hedge trimmings, Leaves and grass, Animal bedding (e.g. from bird or hamster cages), BBQ, cold fireplace ash, Butcher's paper meat wrap, Cold fireplace ash, Cotton balls, Dryer lint, Fireplace ashes, Floor sweepings, Household plants, including soil, Kitty litter (including urine and fecal material), Microwave popcorn bags, Muffin paper, Paper cups and plates, Pet fur and hair, feathers, Popsicle sticks, Soiled napkins, paper towels, Soiled paper, soiled boxboard, and cardboard, Soiled tissues, Sugar, potato, flour paper bags, Toothpicks, Untreated wood scraps (less than four inches in any dimension), Vacuum bag contents and bag Woodchips, sawdust

Quite a list.

The only thing they ask not to put in are "Plastic bags of any kind (even the compostable varieties aren't allowed) and diapers and sanitary products (as they contain plastics)".

Green Bin Ottawa