The City of Wetaskiwin will launch an organic waste collection program on May 6.
The curbside program will be for all detached and semi-detached houses within the city, said the city on its website.
“Thanks to this program, your household organic waste can be turned into compost instead of going to the landfill. Add food scraps, yard waste, soiled pizza boxes, and more,” the website reads.
Meanwhile, the city said in a Facebook post that starting from April 2, the houses in the city will start receiving green carts and kitchen catchers for the disposal of compostable items like food scraps and yard waste.
When does the city collect organic waste?
Green carts are collected on the same day as the garbage collection. The city suggested that the green carts need to be placed out for collection by 7 a.m. on the collection day.
The curbside collection uses different trucks for each type of material and will come by at different times throughout the day, the website mentioned.
Also, the city has recommended lining the bottom of the green organics cart with newspaper, paper towel, or an approved 100 per cent compostable bag to ensure items don’t stick to the bottom.
If desired, the organic waste can also be placed in paper bags and disposed of the paper bags in the organic cart.
If possible, wait until the day before collection day to clear your fridge of food you’re disposing of
To help reduce odours, wrap meat and seafood in a newspaper.
Cart contents must not exceed 100 kilograms or 220 lbs.
What goes into your green cart?
Organic waste materials are classified as food waste, yard waste, approved paper products (including food-soiled paper products), and pet waste. These items are composed of natural materials and thus can be broken down into compost.
When in doubt, use this general rule of thumb: if a household waste item came from something that was once living, it probably belongs in your green cart.
Unacceptable items:
• NO food in packaging - separate food scraps from containers before composting
• NO plastic bags of any kind. NO plant pots or bedding trays — always separate plants and soil from the container before composting
• NO diapers or wipes — even if they say compostable on the label
• NO foam, plastics, coffee cups, stickers or labels
• NO garbage in the organics cart