Three-item Garbage Limit coming Sept 30th

Starting on Monday, September 30th, the City of Ottawa’s curbside garbage collection three-item limit will come into effect. This change is intended to prolong the life of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill. I know that this upcoming change has been confusing and frustrating. You will see below information around how this change was decided on and how it will impact you as a homeowner.

Background and Reasoning

City Council voted on the three-item limit for a few reasons. Firstly, the landfill on Trail Road is at 80 percent capacity and expected to reach capacity in 13 to 15 years from now. At the existing rate of waste collection across Ottawa, it was determined that the landfill could reach capacity before a permanent solution could be implemented, such as a new waste-to-energy facility or another landfill.

Secondly, provincially-mandated targets were introduced to increase waste diversion. This is to encourage more waste being redirected away from landfills and instead being recycled or composted through the green bin program. It is estimated that 58% of waste in Ottawa could be recycled or put in the green bin – well below diversion targets.

Lastly, 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 added costs.

Despite my preference for maintaining the status quo while we improve diversion rates through better education and multi-residential recycling, Council was set on implementing a new policy. I recognized the need for compromise to avoid a worse outcome.

The Compromise Solution

On garbage collection day, households can place their recycling bins (for that week), green bins, and up to three-items of garbage for collection at the curb.

A garbage item includes:

• A garbage bag

• A container/garbage bin*

  • Volume = up to 140 litres

  • Weight = up to 33 pounds

• A bulky item (i.e. one piece of furniture)

*Households can put several smaller bags in containers

Under this policy, you can dispose of up to 420 liters of garbage, weighing up to 99 pounds, every 2 weeks.

Additionally, the yellow bag program, currently for small businesses, will be expanded to allow residents to purchase yellow bags for extra waste. Yellow bags are sold in packages of four for $17.60 which is $4.40 per bag. Information about purchasing yellow bags from local retailers can be found here. Farmers, who play a crucial role in our community, will have exemptions to ensure they can dispose of farm waste without extra costs.

Families with young children, or households with adult incontinence products can register for free for alternating week pick-up of these products by registering here: Incontinence products collection.

Looking Ahead

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 initiative will 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 change 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.

The City is working on a long-term waste solution – options that will cost hundreds of millions 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 waste management future.