Next phase of green bin collection delayed

Toronto will not meet its target of starting green bin collection in large apartment buildings on July 1. In fact, it may be July 2009 before organic waste collection starts in multi-unit buildings, home to 500,000 households in the city, says Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, chair of Toronto’s works committee.

Single-family homes have had green bin collection for years and Toronto wants to extend the service to apartment and condo complexes. The city figures it will collect 30,000 tonnes of organic waste a year from large buildings. De Baeremaeker said Toronto hasn’t been able to find anyone to process the banana peels, potato skins, diapers and tissues produced by residents of housing complexes.

The delay is “very upsetting,” said De Baeremaeker, because organics dumped in landfills produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. “It’s a question of lack of capacity.” Municipalities throughout the GTA are collecting organic waste and competing for existing composting facilities.

“We believe there are a couple of different private-sector companies that are opening up new facilities,” he said, but the city must ensure they’re capable of handling the waste before committing to them. If the program starts July 1 next year, Toronto should still be able to meet its goal of diverting 70 percent of its waste from landfill by 2010.

On the bright side, the city hopes to start recycling plastic bags and polystyrene foam packing material by November. Toronto had been reluctant to collect plastic bags in open blue and grey boxes because they’d blow all over the street, but new lidded recycling carts should prevent the mess.

Another issue has been finding companies who want the materials. The city is poised to send out a request for proposals to determine who will handle the bags and packing foam. If all goes well, bags and foam will be collected for recycling starting November 1, but it will depend on the bids that come in from recyclers.

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