Green Bin Program: Toward zero waste
Food scraps recycling is an important part of Vancouver’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gases and organic waste going to the landfill.
If every resident living in a house and duplex in Vancouver recycled food scraps for a whole year, we’d remove 2,800 trucks worth of food scraps from the landfill.
How it works
Vancouver residents can recycle all food scraps and yard waste. The Green Bin Program enables those in houses and duplexes to add their food scraps to their Green Bins. This includes items like meat, fish, bones, and other foods not normally composted at home. (Residents who compost are encouraged to keep doing so and may start adding food scraps that are not normally composted at home to their Green Bins.)
Food scraps collected in Green Bins are recycled into valuable compost and soil for use throughout the region.
Preparing for a Metro Vancouver ban on organics at the landfill
By recycling our food scraps, we’re preparing for the ban on disposal of all food scraps and yard trimmings, which comes into effect across Metro Vancouver in 2015.
Multi-family buildings and businesses
Residents who currently receive City garbage and yard trimmings collection for their apartment building, condo complex, townhouse or small multi-unit home, can contact 3-1-1 to find out if their building can be included in the Green Bin Program.
Multi-unit residential buildings that do not receive City garbage and food scraps collection, and businesses are encouraged to sign up for food waste collection services from a private hauler.
City staff will be bringing forward a plan for Council’s approval over the months ahead that will require businesses and multi-unit residential buildings, such as condominium complexes, to have food scraps recycling service in place in the near future.
