What you need to know as London's green bin program finally launches
The city's compost program is ready to launch on Monday. Reporter Jack Moulton reviews what residents will need to know when they make the trip to the curb next week.
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Years after first being proposed, and months after bins were dropped off at Londoner’s driveways and new garbage trucks acquired, the city’s compost program is ready to launch on Monday. Reporter Jack Moulton reviews what residents will need to know when they make the trip to the curb next week.
Who is participating?
If you put your garbage and recycling out to the curb for collection, the city should have dropped off a 45-litre green bin, which contains both a smaller container for your kitchen, and a copy of the new collection schedule beginning next week.
That is unless you are living in a townhouse complex that has not yet received bins. According to Jay Stanford, the city’s director of waste management, roughly 60 complexes or about 3,900 units have yet to receive bins due to the city being unable to co-ordinate with on-site management.
Any townhouses with curbside collection but without a green bin will receive a special schedule, and they will be phased into the program during the next one to two months, Stanford explains.
What goes into the bins?
Most food scraps and waste from the kitchen are allowed, including baked goods, cereal, pasta, oil, fruits, vegetables, as well as all sorts of meats and proteins. As well, food-soiled paper products such as paper napkins, plates and pizza boxes are allowed. However, diapers and pet waste must be put in the garbage.
How does city collection work now?
Beginning Monday, waste from the green bin will be collected every week. The recycling collection schedule remains unchanged, but new with the green bin is biweekly garbage collection.
The introduction of the green bin is expected to divert 20,000 tonnes of waste from the landfill annually, both justifying the reduced garbage pick up and allowing for provincial approval to expand the near-full W12A landfill on Manning Drive in south London.
Green bin material will be delivered to a Wellington Road South composting company in London called Convertus which will turn the food waste into an organic soil amendment for farm fields and gardens. London benefits from the program because it increases waste diversion from 45 per cent to 55 to 57 per cent when fully operational.
Can I still put out my old furniture to the curb?
To accommodate the compost waste, the city purchased new, two-chambered trucks which can collect both compost and garbage at the same time. As a result of the decreased space in the newer trucks, the city is also overhauling how it collects larger items such as mattresses and couches.
Anyone disposing of any large, bulky items will have to schedule a pick up with the city five business days in advance in order for the city to draw up a route for larger trucks to conduct pick ups. Scheduling can be done through Service London’s portal.
How did this all start?
Conversations about a city composting program have been happening for more than a decade. For years, London has been one of the only major Ontario cities without one. As it’s landfill approached capacity, the city needed to meet provincial waste diversion targets to get approval to expand it.
The current plan was first endorsed at a civic works committee in September, 2018. The plan for green bins returned to council in March, 2020, where it finally was approved.
Rollout planned for the fall of 2021 was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to focus on essential city services, and was slated to begin a year later. By June of 2022, the city pushed back the rollout another year because delivery of the city’s new garbage trucks was being delayed due to supply chain constraints.
The city began delivering green bins in the fall of 2023 for the lead up to its eventual program launch.
What about keeping out pests?
Some residents are already reporting neighbourhood critters chewing their way into their bins. The city will release a more comprehensive guide on how to ward off pests in the spring, when maggots and flies pose a larger issue.
In the interim, the city recommends residents protect their green bin in the same way they do their garbage bins. Keeping the bins inside the garage or shed is the best solution but other remedies include:
- Keeping bins away from fences, railings and walls to keep animals from climbing above and jumping down onto the bins.
- Making sure the bin is shut tight.
- Keeping the bin off the ground when not at the curb to deter ground level animals.
- Using certified compostable bags, or wrapping or covering compost in paper or newspaper to contain the smell.
What’s next for the program?
As of now, the green bin program is only for residences with curbside waste collection.
According to the 2024-27 draft budget, the city is required by provincial law to introduce a companion green bin program for those living in multi-residential buildings. The business case states the city already approved half a million dollars in 2020 to introduce a pilot project, the details of which will be worked out in 2024 in collaboration with building owners.
Going forward, the city estimates a capital cost of $3 million to fund new green bins, kitchen containers, and two new trash trucks to accommodate compost for all apartment and condo buildings, and an operating cost of $1.2 million a year. Under provincial targets, the city hopes to see a 50 per cent waste reduction at multi-residential buildings by 2025.
No impact to taxes is expected, according to the business case.
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