Frequently asked questions - Last updated: September 18, 2008

• Is the outdoor bin designed to be resistant to dogs, raccoons, etc.?
• City audit indicates raccoons not an issue for Green Bin participants
• Where should I store my green bin – are there any health concerns to worry about?
• Why didn’t they pick up my regular garbage when they emptied my green bin?
• What you need to know
• What you need to do
• An important note about plastic
• How the program works
• The big picture: Diverting waste from landfill
• More questions?

Is the outdoor bin designed to be resistant to dogs, raccoons, etc.?
Yes, the green bin is designed to be animal-resistant. It is durable and has a tight-fitting latch. In fact, the latch on the bins produced for Toronto, East York and York has been further tightened to resist the prying claws of various animals like dogs or raccoons. If you use a bag (strictly optional) to line your outdoor green bin, make sure it is completely tucked into the bin when you set it out; otherwise the edges may be used by animals to pull the bin over, but more importantly you want to avoid any food residue left on the plastic from attracting animals.

When you take your bin to the curb is important. If you know you’ve had a problem with animals, rather than putting your bin out the night before pick-up, wait until early the next morning and put it out before 7:00 a.m. on your collection day (raccoons usually feed at night). If you store your bin in a garage or shed, make sure the doors and windows are closed.

In addition to securely latching your bin shut, you may wish to try hooking a bungee cord from one side to the other, as long as you remove it before collection (the collectors don’t have time to do so).

raccoons, in particular, have always been an issue to deal with when it comes to setting out garbage for curbside collection. Keep managing this issue as you’ve always done with your regular garbage, and make use of the precautions we’ve suggested to secure your green bin. By securing your bin as described above, you’re taking the best precaution against attracting and feeding raccoons.

To provide additional security against persistent pests like raccoons, the City provides residents with the option of purchasing a latch lock addition to your current green bin latch. This extra latch costs $9.00 and is available at the same Works Yards serving as recycling container pick-up locations (PDF) and at local Community Environment Day events (not Home Hardware stores). It comes with easy to follow installation and usage instructions.
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City audit indicates raccoons not an issue for Green Bin participants
After the Green Bin Program became established in Etobicoke, the City conducted an audit of 900 homes that bordered either golf courses or ravines to see if animals, such as raccoons, were opening the bins and causing a problem. During the four weeks that curbside set-out was observed, only seven bins out of 900 were opened. While one can’t be sure exactly how they were opened or by whom, it appears that raccoons were not a problem. The City followed up these findings with a further inquiry to Toronto’s Customer Service staff, who verified that from January to July, there had not been one complaint about raccoons getting into green bins from those homes audited.

One could say, raccoons cannot cause problems unless we allow them to do so. For more information about “raccoons and your home,” check out the Toronto Humane Society’s web site at http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/caringforPet/raccoons.html

The green bin is collected once a week; garbage or recycling are collected every second week. It is important to understand that all of the "smelly" garbage goes in the green bin and is picked up every week. That should only leave a few items (plastic that can't be recycled, light bulbs, dryer sheets, hair/pet fur, vacuum cleaner bags, etc.) left in your garbage – nothing that has a potential for odour.

The Green Bin Program is completely sanitary and safe. It is no different than when you placed your garbage out for weekly collection because every week is green bin week.

If, by mistake, you mixed up your collection schedule, and put your regular garbage out on the wrong week, you will likely find that your collector has put a bright yellow sticker on the garbage bag or can left behind. This sticker is a reminder that the regular garbage collection has changed and this is not your week for this type of collection. Check your calendar and put it out for pick-up on your next scheduled regular garbage collection day. Keeping regular garbage to the following week shouldn’t be an issue because all of the potentially “smelly” items are picked up weekly in the green bin.

What is the Green Bin Organics Program?
The Green Bin Program allows participants (North York effective the week of October 24, 2005), Toronto, York, East York, Etobicoke and Scarborough residents living in houses receiving curbside collection to put organics (fruit and vegetables scraps, paper towels, coffee grinds, etc.) out for separate collection along with garbage and recycling.

What are organics?
Organics are materials that break down naturally and can be turned into compost. This saves them from going to landfill - landfill space is costly and hard to find.

What materials are accepted in the Green Bin Organics Program?

• Fruits, vegetable scraps
• Meat, shellfish, fish products
• Pasta, bread, cereal
• Dairy products, egg shells
• Coffee grounds, filters, tea bags
• Soiled paper towels, tissues
• Soiled paper food packaging: fast food paper packaging, ice cream boxes, muffin paper, flour and sugar bags
• Paper plates
• Candies, cookies, cake
• Baking ingredients, herbs, spices
• Household plants, including soil
• Diapers, sanitary products
• Animal waste, bedding (e.g. from bird/hamster cages), kitty litter
• Pet food

Are there specific items that I can't put in?

• Plastic wrap, baggies, sandwich bags
• Plastic items such as food containers (e.g. yogurt or margarine tubs), cutlery
• Plastic milk bags
• Styrofoam, meat tray liners
• Foil
• Wax paper
• Artificial flowers and plants
• Leather, textiles, clothing
• Rugs, carpets
• Cigarette butts, tobacco
• Corks (from wine bottles, etc.)
• Gum
• Ear cleaners, cotton balls, make-up removal pads
• Dental floss
• Baby wipes
• Disposable mop sheets
• Dryer lint, dryer sheet
• Vacuum cleaner bags and contents
• Feathers
• Hair, pet fur
• Dead animals
• Fireplace or BBQ ashes
• Wood products, wood chips
• Candles
• Recyclable materials

What does the City supply to residents?
Every household with curbside pick-up received:

• A smaller container (beige) for the kitchen that can be attached inside a cupboard or kept on the counter.
• A larger container (green) for the curb. The one for the curb has wheels and handles so that it's easy to move around.
• Instructions about what goes into the two containers.

Why are the garbage collectors putting the garbage in the same place in the truck as the green bin material?
They aren't. It may look like the organic material is going in the same place as the garbage. However, the trucks being used to collect the materials have two separate compartments. You can't see the two compartments unless you're standing at the back of the truck. One week the truck collects organics in one compartment and garbage in the other, and the following week organics in one and recyclables in the other. With this type of two-compartment vehicle, there are fewer trucks going up and down the streets of your neighbourhood on your collection day and the materials remain separated.

What do I have to do?
Here's a summary of the process:

1. Place your indoor container in a convenient location - it can be attached inside a cupboard or underneath your sink.
2. Line your indoor container or outdoor green bin with a plastic bag. Please line just one or the other - not both. No special bag is required for either collection container. If you wish, you can reuse plastic grocery bags to line your indoor container. Any plastic bag (e.g. green garbage bag) can be used to line your outdoor green bin.
3. Place all items accepted in the Green Bin Program, including the optional plastic bag used to line the indoor container, and any other acceptable materials into your outdoor green bin.
4. Latch your green bin before setting it out.
5. If you use a bag to line your outdoor green bin (required if you have not lined your indoor kitchen container), make sure it is completely tucked into the bin when you set it out; otherwise the edges may be used by animals to pull the bin over.
6. Place your curbside green bin container at the curb by 7 a.m. on your collection day (in areas with large animal populations, try to wait to set the bin out in the morning if at all possible).

What if I have too much material for one green bin? What do I do with the overflow?
Put excess material in a see-through bag and place it beside the green bin (no special bag is required as long as it's see-through, but please use one large bag instead of many small ones). We recommend that you put non-food waste (e.g. diapers, animal waste) in this bag and place it out the morning of collection.

Should I put my name on my green bin?
Yes, we encourage residents to write their address on the green bin with a permanent black marker.

What happens if I lose my green bin - can I buy extra bins?
You can purchase a second outdoor container for $18, or a second indoor container for $5. Containers and bins are now available at city-based Home Hardware stores, at City depot locations, or at a Community Environment Day.

If the container breaks or cracks, will the City replace it?
As with our blue and grey boxes, if there is a problem with your green bin, the City will replace it. Call 311 for information on where to go to replace it. You will need to bring your broken bin with you.

The program sounds disgusting. I don't want to touch all of that yucky stuff. Won't the bins smell awful? What can I do?
You can use plastic bags to line either one of your containers. Instead of throwing your food waste, etc. in the garbage, you're throwing it in your kitchen container. You are already handling this material.

Do I have to use a bag to line the green bin?
Line your indoor kitchen container (no need to buy special bags ... your used grocery bags will do just fine) or your outdoor green bin. There is no need to line both bins. By lining your kitchen container, you don't have to handle the organics twice. Just remove the full plastic bag from your indoor container and toss it into your outdoor green bin -twisted or loosely tied, if possible, as it helps us separate the plastic from the organics at the processing facility. A note about winter: Using plastic bags as liners prevents loose organics from freezing to the side of the bin in winter. Also, please note that both containers are washable. (Do not place your kitchen container in the dishwasher.)

Can I put the plastic bag with which I pick up my dog excrement inside the bin?
Yes, you can. We make an exception in this case. The bags will be removed in the processing facility.

Can I put my leaves and yard waste in the green bin?
No. Please continue to use rigid open-top containers (garbage cans, bushel baskets) or kraft bags for your yard waste. (Please remember that we don't pick up yard waste in plastic bags.) The composting process is different for yard waste. It is taken to a different facility than the materials in the green bin.

I'm elderly/disabled and won't be able to drag that container to the curb every week. What should I do?
It is basically the same procedure that is used for existing garbage collection. In fact, this should be easier, as there are wheels to help you transport the green bin to the curb.

I compost already and don't want to participate. Is this okay?
Of course. We encourage you to continue backyard composting. At the same time, we also encourage you to participate in the Green Bin Program because there are some additional items that you can't currently compost that are accepted in the Green Bin Organics Program - animal waste, meat, fish products, diapers, etc.

What if I don't want to participate?
Participating in the Green Bin Program is mandatory for all City of Toronto residents receiving curbside collection. Every resident has a responsibility to ensure that materials designated as organics under the Green Bin Program are kept separate from garbage and are properly placed out for collection.

Where is the organic material going?
Your organic materials are picked up at the curb by collection vehicles and taken to the Dufferin Organics Processing Facility in Toronto, which was built specifically for the Green Bin Organics Program. A biological process that uses bacteria in the absence of oxygen ("anaerobic digestion") converts the organics into organic solid material. This material is taken to another facility where it is turned into compost.

What will the finished compost be used for?
It will be used as a soil amendment for farmland and parkland.

Is this program safe and sanitary? What about germs/bacteria from diapers or animal waste?
The Green Bin Program is completely sanitary and safe. All of the materials collected in the green bin were previously collected as garbage, so the common sense precautions you take when handling household waste still apply. Between collection days, store your green bin in a secure location to avoid accidental tipping and animal interference. Keep the lid closed to minimize odours and discourage flies/pests. Just as you would after handling any waste container, wash your hands after handling the green bin.

Materials collected in the Green Bin Program go through a series of processing operations resulting in a clean and safe compost product. Mechanical operations separate organic materials from the film plastic bags used to either line the green bin or the kitchen container and the contaminant materials normally found in such waste. Final processing involves aerobic composting, a biological process that occurs in the presence of oxygen, produces a stabilized organic material called compost. Composting has been used for decades to convert a variety of organic materials, including human and animal waste, into a safe and bacteria-free product.

Through decades of experiment and experience, sanitary engineering practice has developed standards for the composting process that ensure elimination of disease-causing organisms (pathogens). The high temperatures occurring naturally during the composting process destroys pathogens. Maintaining such high temperatures for a minimum time period ensures the final finished compost is pathogen-free.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment specifies and regulates processing requirements via the operating permits it issues to composting facilities in the province.

How have the bins been tested to ensure they are durable?
The containers have been thoroughly tested by the manufacturer and are guaranteed to last five years. The City did additional testing, including drop tests, and involved both collectors and ergonomists to analyze the bins. If your bin cracks or breaks, please call 311 to find out where to go to replace it (you will need to bring your broken bin with you).

Are apartment residents participating in the Green Bin Organics Program?
Not at this time. There are pilot projects being undertaken across the City in apartment buildings to determine the system that would work best there.

Is the Green Bin Program really helping Toronto reduce waste from landfill?
Yes. We know by studying results from the Etobicoke and Scarborough communities' participation that, on average, each participating household is diverting 200 kg of organics from landfill - a lot more than the City had hoped for. How much is that exactly? Enough to keep almost 1,500 trucks bound for Michigan landfill off the road each year. And if Toronto, York and East York perform as well as Etobicoke and Scarborough, that will represent an additional 1,800 or more trucks bound for Michigan landfill off the road annually.

Why did the City start this program?
The City-owned Keele Valley landfill site closed December 31, 2002. All the City's garbage is being sent to a private landfill in Michigan. Disposal costs for garbage have increased by more than 300%. About 1/3 (30 per cent) of that garbage is organic material - material that can be processed into compost for use on farms and parklands instead of being sent to landfill. The purpose of the new Green Bin Program is to divert these organic materials from Michigan landfill and turn them into compost.