Toronto, York and East York joined the Green Bin Program the week of October 19, 2004.

On October 19, 2004, at a curbside press conference in the Beach area of Toronto, Mayor Miller, along with the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of the Environment; Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin; and Councillor Jane Pitfield, Chair of the Works Committee, officially launched the Green Bin Program.

The Mayor stated, "We welcome the Green Bin Program because it diverts organic materials from Michigan landfill and turns them into compost. In 2002, Etobicoke got the Green Bin Program. Scarborough came on board last year. To date, their achievements are outstanding - over 95 percent participation. Over the year, each Etobicoke and Scarborough household diverts on average 200 kilograms of green bin organic waste per household. Together they keep more than 1,000 trucks bound for Michigan off the road. Today we celebrate the addition of the communities of Toronto, York and East York, and I'm confident this will boost our success rate even higher."

For more details, see the media release and program factsheet.

Weekly green bin collection in Toronto, York and East York started the week of October 18, 2004 (since there's no Monday collection, the first pick-up day was Tuesday, October 19th).

Each household participating in the Green Bin program (food/organics waste collection) received both a larger curbside green bin* and a smaller indoor kitchen bin, along with an information package prior to start-up.

*The City recommends writing your address on your new green bin with a black permanent marker.