Three-item Garbage Limit Begins Monday, Sept. 30
By David Brown, Rideau-Jock Councillor
Starting on Monday, September 30th, Ottawa’s new curbside garbage collection policy will begin rolling out. A three-item garbage limit policy will come into effect over the course of the rest of the year.
Before getting into what the plan will mean for you, it is important to understand how this decision came about.
City Council voted on the three-item limit for a few reasons. The landfill on Trail Road is at 80% capacity and expected to reach capacity in 13-15 years from now – long before a permanent solution, such as a new waste-to-energy facility or another landfill, is expected to be implemented.
Additionally, provincially-mandated waste diversion targets were introduced to increase recycling and green bin rates. It is estimated that 58% of waste in Ottawa could be recycled or put in the green bin – well below the targets that the City must reach according to the province.
Ultimately, the three-item limit was a compromise decision over the alternative and costly “bag-tag” system proposed by City staff. The “bag-tags” option was simply unacceptable for me and several other councillors and would have resulted in minimal benefits with significantly added costs.
Despite my preference for maintaining the status quo while we improve diversion rates through better education, multi-residential recycling, and an expedited waste-to-energy solution, Council was set on implementing a new curbside collection policy. I recognized the need for compromise to avoid a worse outcome.
Under this new policy, on garbage collection day, households can place their black or blue recycling bins, green bins, and up to three items of garbage for collection at the curb. An item can be a 140-litre garbage bin that fits multiple bags, a single bag, a piece of furniture or other large items. An item can weigh up to 33 pounds, meaning households can throw out up to 99 pounds of waste every two weeks.
For those with extra unavoidable waste, there are three programs that residents can take advantage of. The Residential Yellow Bag Program will allow residents to purchase yellow bags at select retailers for extra waste. Registered households can use the Special Consideration Program for the collection of diapers, adult incontinence products, and home healthcare waste. Lastly, under the Agricultural Exemption Program, registered agricultural properties will be exempt from the three-item limit from April 1st to May 31st every year.
More information about the new three-item limit policy and general garbage collection can be found online at ottawa.ca/en/garbage-and-recycling/garbage.
Starting this fall, as part of the City’s Mutli-Residential Waste Diversion Strategy, all multi-residential properties (buildings with 6 units or more) will transition to a mandatory organics program. This initiativewill require all multi-residential properties to implement and participate in the City’s Green Bin program to receive City waste management services.
Though not perfect, this policy is a significant improvement over the bag-tag proposal. It provides about 40% more garbage allowance than the original staff proposal, reduces costs by $1 million annually, and improves waste diversion. The policy is more straightforward and less costly for residents while still meeting waste diversion goals and extending landfill life.
Additionally, the province is moving towards an individual producer responsibility system for recycling. This will shift recycling costs to producers and result in more items being recyclable, benefiting the taxpayer financially and helping folks produce less unavoidable waste.
The City is working on a long-term waste solution – options that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. I am in favour of a waste-to-energy solution but am open to any viable option that reduces our reliance on landfilling and maintains our core services.
As always, I’m committed to ensuring that our community’s interests are well-represented and that we move towards a sustainable and affordable waste management future.
