Did you know that over half of household waste can be diverted from the landfill either by composting or recycling? In Is privatization of recycling a good thing, I wrote about our local municipal recycling program and the Waste Whiz app. Today, I’m asking an important question—Why doesn’t everyone use their green bin?
This post was originally published in July 2020 as “Why doesn’t everyone use their green bin?” and updated in May 2023.
A quick survey of what’s on the curb in my neighbourhood on garbage day reveals that about two-thirds of households are using their green bins. This is pretty good, but I have to wonder why it’s not 100%.
Today, I’m looking at the benefits of green bin programs and the number one reason people don’t use their bins. Plus, some tips to make green binning easier.
History of our green bin program
Waterloo Region introduced the green bin program in 2006. It was rolled out region-wide following a successful pilot program. In the pilot, 90% of households adopted the bins. Ten years later, overall participation was below 35%, putting the program in a deficit.
In 2017, the region made changes to our waste collection. They continued weekly pick-up of blue box and green bin waste. To encourage usage of these programs, collection of other waste was reduced to every two weeks and bag limits were introduced.
Following that change, green bin use doubled. According to the Region of Waterloo Waste Management 2019 Annual Report, 65% of our waste was diverted from the landfill using the blue box and green bin programs. That’s amazing!
Benefits of the program
Putting waste in the green bin has three key benefits:
- The material is turned into compost used by farmers and landscapers. This compost replaces chemical fertilizers that can seep into our groundwater and contaminate our drinking water wells.
- The waste diverted by the program extends the life of our landfill. It used to take six months to fill one garbage layer in the landfill. Now, it’s nine months.
- When organic waste decays in the landfill, it produces methane gas. Diverting this waste reduces greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to climate change.
Despite the obvious benefits, we still have about one-third of residents not participating in the program.
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
Why don’t people use their green bins?
When I ask people why they don’t use their green bins, the number one reason is “It’s smelly and gross…and UGH the maggots in summertime!”
While I agree that the bins can be smelly and gross in the summertime and I’m not a fan of maggots, this argument doesn’t make sense to me. Even before the green bin, our garbage in summer was smelly and gross and yes…there were maggots.
Personally, I’d rather use the bin and have it collected weekly than have smelly garbage bags lying around for two weeks.
Tips to make green binning easier
There are ways to reduce the mess and smell. Here are some tips to make using your green bin easier:
- Line the bin using paper or certified compostable plastic liner bags.
- Layer food waste with paper waste like tissues, paper towels or shredded paper. This will absorb liquids and reduce odours.
- Keep the bin in a shaded area out of direct sunlight.
- Wash your green bin frequently.
- When preparing food, put a couple of sheets of newspaper on the counter, then roll it up with the food waste and put it in the bin.
- Some people put meat waste and bones in the freezer until garbage day. That’s a good idea if you have enough room in your freezer, but it wouldn’t work in our house.
Between the blue box and green bin programs, we’ve been able to reduce our household waste to one bag of regular garbage every two weeks. These programs work! We just need to get everyone onboard.
Do you use your green bin? Do you have tips to share? Tell us below.
I’ve always wondered this, too! I’ve been using a green bin ever since I moved into a house and could not imagine not using it.
Seriously, thank you for sharing such an important post. PS: your tips were great!
Thank you. You’re right. There really is no excuse.
Our apartment building garbage chute has a tri-sorter for waste, recycling, and compost, so it’s very convenient for the residents. I haven’t been composting though for some reason… I guess I just never got around to it. It’s never too late to start! Next time I’m out shopping I will buy a bin and some compostable liner bags. I just downloaded the Waste Whiz app, it’s great! Thank you Michelle for all of your great ideas and information.
Thanks Gabe. Glad to hear you’re getting on board with composting. We have containers for compostables and garbage under our sink. Then we keep a small blue bin by the back door for recyclables. That works for us. Once you build the habit you don’t even think about it any more.
This was really interesting, I’d never looked into the green bins with such thought before, but I agree people should definitely be using them more
Thank you! Despite their downfalls, green bins really are a good thing. We’ve never considered not using ours.
Great article, thank you Michelle. If we HAD the Green Bin Program here in Brant County, I would gladly be using it. We use a Compost bin but it’s only for veggie, fruit , coffee grounds & egg shells. Perhaps sometime in the future Green Bins will be introduced. Since I switched from drinking Pop, I use a Soda Stream with fresh Lemon and our Blue Bin to once every 2 weeks! 👍👍❤️
Thanks Lorraine. I didn’t realize Brant County doesn’t have a green bin program. It makes a huge difference. We usually only put out one bag of garbage every 2 weeks.
I struggle with the green bins, because of maggots hate them in the garbage too. I use a composter in the yard instead. Can’t use meat scraps there though.
Yes. Maggots are definitely gross! But I always think back to the days before we had green bins and the raccoons would get into the garbage and there would be mess everywhere! I think the green bins have helped with that because they latch securely and there’s no food waste in the garbage bags to attract the vermin.