City of Ottawa adding 230 multi-unit buildings to Green Bin program this year

A pamphlet and info sheet about the Green Bin program, distributed to multi-unit building residents. (CTV News Ottawa)

Residents in more than 200 apartment and condo buildings in Ottawa will be getting green bins this year.

The City of Ottawa has been phasing in multi-unit buildings into the organic waste recycling program since last year, in an effort to divert waste from the Trail Road landfill and extend the dump’s lifespan.

“There are approximately 1,400 multi-residential properties that are currently enrolled in the Green Bin program in Ottawa. Since October 2024, 130 new properties were added to the program and staff expect approximately 230 additional properties will be added this year,” said Angela Plant, project manager of long-term planning with Solid Waste Services, in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“New properties are added using a phased approach to ensure each building is fully supported in both setting up and continuing to use the program. Properties will continue to be added until the end of 2028.”

Plant says the new properties being added in 2025 are part of the second phase of the project to expand Green Bin use in Ottawa. This group of buildings includes properties with fewer than 100 units. Apartment and condo buildings with more than 100 units will be added in the third phase in 2026 and 2027.

According to city statistics, multi-residential properties account for 17 per cent of waste generated in Ottawa, and a 2019 Waste Audit Study found that 58 per cent of multi-residential waste disposed of as garbage could have been diverted through the City’s recycling or organics diversion programs.

Plant did not have any details about how much waste has been diverted from the buildings that have been added to the Green Bin program since 2024, but said more information would be available later this year.

“Outreach staff conduct quarterly visual waste audits for properties that have implemented the green bin. Based on these audits, most newly onboarded properties are using the program. Further performance measures on this project, such as diversion information, will be reported on through annual reports,” she wrote.

The city’s solid waste master plan aims to extend the life of the Trail Road landfill, which is expected to reach capacity in the mid-2030s. Efforts to reduce waste sent to the landfill include a three-item curbside collection limit, an upcoming ban on industrial waste, and a short-term expansion of airspace capacity.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Josh Pringle