City going green with organic bins

Foul odours turn off some
Toronto implements green bins for residents
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally written Oct. 18/2004 for Town Crier.)
This is a look back at to an article I wrote five years ago as the city now grapples with how to roll out organic waste collection for apartment dwellers…

Councillor Jane Pitfield and Geoff Rathbone, the director of policy and planning for Toronto’s works department, introduce the green bin.

You couldn’t have helped noticing a big, 45-litre green bin delivered to your door recently, in preparation for the city’s new organic garbage collection program starting in the former Toronto, York and East York the week of Oct. 18/04.
Inside the bin are two things: an info sheet telling you what can and can’t go into the green bin and a small beige indoor container for kitchen scraps, which can then be dumped into the outdoor bin.

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Reducing waste in office work place

Health centre cuts almost all garbage
Strict recycling program a model for all businesses
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally written March 15/07 for Town Crier.)

Janitor Nihal Munaweera looks over the community centre’s garbage room, which was filled with waste but is now dominated by recycling.

The amount of garbage being thrown out at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre has plummeted from 50 bags a week to five.
This considerable shift did not happen on its own, but at the same time is a feat that any other business could achieve with some planning, says the centre’s health promoter, Paul Young.

Toronto highrises get organic waste collection

City rolls our green bins in multi-unit buildings over 18 months

By Kris Scheuer
(Originally written for Town Crier Nov. 13/08)
North Yorker Anne-Marie Ambert’s green conscience was eating away at her every time the condo-dweller threw food scraps in the trash.
So Ambert advocated for her building, near Yonge St. and Empress Ave., to be one of 30 test sites for city’s new highrise organic waste collection system.
As a result of having green bin pick-up since 2006, residents here reduced their waste output from five to seven industrial size garbage containers a week down to two, said Ambert, president of the condo board at The Boulevard.
The program was considered such a success here, Mayor David Miller chose this site to launch organic waste collection for all Toronto highrises.
“You have led the way in helping us find out how to do this,” Miller said Nov. 12. “People want to recycle but need tools to make it convenient and part of their daily lives.”
Over the next year and a half, the city will roll out the green bin program in 300 buildings each month until all 4,500 multi-unit residential buildings are on board. This is expected to divert an additional 30,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill, according to city stats.

Anne-Marie Ambert demonstrates how green bin
works in her condo. Photo by Kris Scheuer.