Environment committee approves green bins in apartment buildings

City of Ottawa residents place their green bins, recycling, and garbage cans on the side of the street for pick-up on Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (CTV Ottawa)

The city of Ottawa's environment committee has approved a plan to expand the green bin program to apartment buildings and other multi-unit properties.

The city collects garbage and recycling from 2,150 multi-unit buildings and 929 of those currently participate in the green bin program. The plan approved Tuesday, if approved by full city council next Wednesday, would require the remaining 714 buildings to have a green bin program.

Staff would continue to introduce green bins on a voluntary basis for the rest of 2022, with all new properties starting city collection service as of Wednesday, June 1 being required to participate in the program.

Staff will report to the new council next year with a detailed implementation plan and cost analysis to introduce organic waste recycling to all buildings in the city.

A survey of residents and the property management sector in February and March found key barriers to program participation included a lack of space to store bins, concerns about pets and cleanliness, no green bin access, and a lack of knowledge about how to sort waste, making throwing things in the garbage the easiest option. The survey found 60 per cent of residents said making it more convenient to dispose of organic waste would encourage participation in the green bin program.

This is one of several city of Ottawa projects designed to support the city’s new Solid Waste Master Plan, to be completed in 2023. It also aligns with the Province’s Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement to reduce food waste from multi-residential properties by 50 per cent by 2025 and require those properties to provide food and organic waste collection to their residents.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Josh Pringle.