By next month, the City of Peterborough will have the opportunity to become a whole lot greener.
Eligible households are already receiving their green bins and becoming a part of the city’s organic waste and composting program.
Household garbage will need to be contained in a clear bag for bi-weekly collection, and regular garbage bins won’t be permitted at the curb beginning the week of October 31st. Through these programs, we can take tangible climate action as a community. The simultaneous and connected shifts, however, have led many residents to seek out more support and information to be successful.
Here are some tips and tricks from GreenUP staff amidst the new City of Peterborough waste programs.
Get started with your green bin
If you are eligible, and have already received your green bin, open it up to discover a kitchen catcher bin, a waste management calendar and guide (full of helpful tips, tricks, and detailed insights into city waste programs), bag samples, and more.
More than 50 per cent of your household waste should now, ideally, move to the green bin.
Concerned about wildlife interfering with your bins?
Reduce attractants by rinsing your recyclables, making sure your green bin is completely closed and locked, and storing your full clear bags securely until it’s time for them to go the curb (by 7 a.m. on your collection day).
Taking your clear garbage bags to the curb in the morning of your bi-weekly garbage collection day will reduce the number of nocturnal visitors.
Have a successful organics pick-up
Place your green bin out to the curb two feet away from any other bin, and point the arrows towards the street.
The specialized truck that picks up the green bin will do so with a mechanical arm.
Keep your green bin dry
A handy tip for keeping moisture out of your green bin: line it with scrap or shredded paper, paper towel, or paper bin liners.
Use the City of Peterborough waste app
There is a mobile app that helps make sorting your materials easier. The City of Peterborough Waste app is available for free on Apple’s App Store and Google Play and features a collection calendar and a tool for what goes where.
You can find the collection calendar and what-goes-where tool on the City of Peterborough’s website.
Remember to check the collection calendar to see if your collection day is changing effective October 31.
What should you do with your garbage bin?
Do you have a waste bin you no longer need? Repurpose it to collect seasonal yard waste instead of using leaf bags.
Labels for yard waste bins are available for free from City Hall, GreenUP, and Home Hardware on Simcoe Street.
Don’t overload your clear garbage bag
Ensure you meet the weight limit of 30 pounds per clear bag at the curb. Any heavier objects should instead be taken to the Peterborough Waste Management Facility at 1260 Bensfort Road in Otonabee-South Monaghan.
GreenUP can help you identify ways to reduce your waste
If you want to replace common items that end up in the landfill like cling wrap, plastic straws, and sanitary pads, the GreenUP Store & Resource Centre at 378 Aylmer Street North has reusable, zero-plastic alternatives.
The GreenUP Store also sells backyard compost bins, smaller collector bins, and city recycling bins — which are only $8, far less expensive than recycling bins at big box stores.
Don’t throw out hard-to-recycle items
The environmental intention behind the clear bag waste system is that it prevents hidden recyclables or organics from being diverted to the landfill.
Want to remove even more hard-to-recycle items from your clear bags? Some locations, including GreenUP, provide recycling collections for toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, plastic razors, plastic coffee bags, and more.
Pumpkins are organic waste
Last but not least, don’t forget to put your Hallowe’en pumpkins in the green bin. What great timing!
Waste reduction requires thinking about what goes in the green bins and, more importantly, what we can keep out of the clear bags.
Through these programs, it is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 1,943 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2030 and by a total of 79,305 tonnes between 2023 and 2050. This could be compared to taking 18,000 cars off the roads for one year.
As residents, we all have the collective power to reduce the methane created in our landfill facility, by following our local waste management guidelines.
