Green bins to be in all Ottawa apartment and condo buildings by end of 2028

Green bins will be in all Ottawa apartments and condominiums by the end of 2028, as the city continues to look for ways to expand the life of the Trail Road Landfill.

The City of Ottawa's four-tier plan to expand the organic waste recycling program to all 2,200 multi-residential buildings is contained in a report for the May 21 environment and climate change committee meeting. Council approved a new multi-residential waste diversion strategy in 2022, requiring all multi-residential properties serviced by the city to have an organic waste diversion program.

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As of April 2024, 1,198 multi-residential properties serviced by the City of Ottawa have a green bin program in place. Under the plan, all remaining properties will see the green bin program between the summer of 2024 and the winter of 2028.

"The onboarding process will be implemented using a tiered approach, phased in over four years, that prioritizes buildings with additional regular garbage collections, then targets smaller buildings, ending with larger buildings," staff say. "This approach is focused on helping properties take advantage of the green bin, to encourage waste diversion which will cause a reduction in the amount of garbage properties currently produce."

A multi-residential property is defined as a group of residential dwellings containing six or more units, according to the city.

The first tier of properties to receive the green bin program between the summer of 2024 and the spring of 2025 will be 220 properties that are currently receiving regular garbage collection, and additional garbage collection above and beyond the regularly scheduled collections.

The second tier of properties (650 buildings) to receive the green bin through 2025 and 2026 will be sites that receive collections and have under 100 units. The final 180 buildings with more than 100 units will receive the green bin program bin in 2026 and 2027.

"It is expected that larger properties (100 units or more) will require more work to onboard to the organics program, due to the configuration of large high-rise building and the anonymity afforded by these properties, which tends to deter waste diversion as all waste streams are often disposed down chutes," staff said in the report.

The final tier in 2027 and 2028 will focus on properties requiring additional work due to their "built environment," which includes limited or no space for the green bin.

Staff say Solid Waste Services will assign inspectors to work with property managers to support the implementation plan for the green bin program, and properties will receive education and outreach material to ensure tenants are aware of and understand the organics waste recycling program.

The City of Ottawa estimates the rollout of the green bin program to all residential buildings will cost $5.6 million.

The multi-residential sector accounts for 17 per cent of waste generated in the city of Ottawa. Staff say in 2023, the multi-residential sector generated 46,105 tonnes of garbage, 10,268 tonnes of recyclable material and 1,564 tonnes or organic waste.

"A 2019 Waste Audit Study found that 58 per cent of multi-residential waste disposed of as garbage could have been diverted through the City’s recycling or organics diversion programs," says the report.

Garbage collected from multi-residential properties is disposed of at the Trail Road Waste Facility. Staff have said the landfill could reach capacity between 2034 and 2035, "if changes aren't made to waste disposal habits."

The City of Ottawa is set to impose a three-item limit on curbside residential garbage collection, starting this fall.