Ottawa residents diverting less than 50 per cent of trash from the dump

The city of Ottawa unveiled dual-collection garbage trucks that will be able to collect organic waste and recyclable materials at the same time.

OTTAWA — Ottawa residents are sending too much trash to the dump, instead of tossing it in the green bin, blue bin or black box.

Ottawa residents generated 338,894 tonnes of garbage, recycling and green bin waste in 2019. The waste was collected at homes, apartments, parks and city facilities.

A city report shows only 44 per cent of that waste was diverted from the municipal landfill through green bins, yard waste bags, blue boxes and black boxes.

The waste diversion rate was 49 per cent for homes, and just 17 per cent for multi-residential buildings and city buildings.  A presentation for reporters on Thursday showed that 58 per cent of the waste was wrongly disposed of in the garbage, instead of the blue box, black box or green bin program.

The City of Ottawa has completed the first phase of its Solid Waste Master Plan, a 30-year plan that will guide how the city manages our waste.   The first phase provides an overview of the current state of the city’s waste management system, including collection, diversion and processing.

The Trail Road waste facility is now expected to reach full capacity by 2042.

While the city is awaiting further directions from the federal and provincial governments on proposed changes to waste management, staff have been exploring how the city could influence waste diversion and reduction.

This year, the city is looking at a pilot project to divert waste from municipal parks and will hold consultations about diverting waste at special events.

Next year, the city will implement a strategy to increase waste diversion at multi-residential proprieties and a new policy to determine if additional items could be accepted in green bins, including compostable coffee pods and utensils.

Ottawa residents will have a chance to review the proposed options for the master plan this winter, and a new draft master plan will be introduced in 2021.