Compostable materials make up close to 30 per cent of our current waste.

Composting lessons

Many municipalities offer hands-on instruction to help residents learn the ins-and-outs of composting. Contact your municipality for information.

Composting quick tips:

1. Compost vegetable scraps, spent flowers, egg shells, and coffee grounds. 
2.  Add thin layers of carbon rich brown material like shredded newsprint, dry leaves, grass clippings each time you add kitchen scraps
3. Keep a dry (old garbage bin with a lid) supply of leaves beside you compost bin to supply the brown material layers.
4. Chop up material- thumb sized is best
5. Keep a lid on it, and keep it moist but not wet
6. Let it breath by churning the pile
7. DO NOT add fish, meat, or oil

If you live in a house you can have a composter in your back garden. If you live in an apartment it can be challenging to compost. Some buildings have group composting in a garden site. You might set up a worm bin to manage your kitchen scraps.

Yard Trimmings

Yard trimmings, such as branches, leaves, grass clippings and large roots from your garden are banned from the garbage. Larger items can be bundled for curb side pick up, OR put in a bin marked for yard waste pick up OR taken to a yard waste depot. Each city has a different yard waste program so check with municipality.

Tip: If you have a backyard composter, gather a dry bin of leaves in the fall to use as a compost layer year round.