Use your green bin

Don't put food scraps in the garbage

Did you know approximately 60 per cent of all food waste in Ontario is sent to landfills? There, it creates methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that pollutes our environment. So, sort waste right! Place your food scraps into the green bin, not the garbage. By doing so, you'll help create nutrient-rich fertilizer for farmers' fields that grow our food!

Here are examples of food scraps that - if they can't be repurposed - should go in the green bin:

• Banana peels
• Coffee grounds
• Eggshells
• Fats, oils and grease
• Meat and seafood bones
• Nutshells
• Steeped tea bags or tea leaves
• Tomato skins

You can also place other organic items, such as diapers, napkins, paper towels, pet waste, tissues and cut flowers in the green bin.

Wooden crates and bushel baskets should be bagged and placed in the garbage - they cannot go in the green bin or blue box.

Never dispose of fruit or vegetable peels or other food products down a drain or catch basin. Doing this can cause costly blockages and damages to the City of Vaughan's stormwater or wastewater systems.

Try backyard composting!

Fruit and vegetable peels, grass clippings and yard waste - these are all materials that can go in a backyard composter.

By turning organics into compost and using it in gardens and farmlands, we can create healthy soils that produce healthier food and higher yields. Compost also reduces the need to use fertilizer and pesticides, improves water quality, conserves water, and stores carbon in soil - all of which help combat climate change. Composting can also decrease your household's curbside waste by up to 30 per cent!

Get started by buying a backyard composter from the City at vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughantoday!

Check what goes where

If you don't know where to dispose of an item, use the online 'What Goes Where?' sorting tool to check using the search function. You can also download the free Recycle Coach app from the Apple App Storeor Google Playfor more sorting help. The app also provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week.

To learn more about waste collection in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

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