Garbage set out requirements

• Garbage bags cannot be inside bins or pails when placed at the curb
• Clear garbage bags are mandatory for all City addresses, with up to 3 privacy bags (maximum size 25 litres or 5.5 imperial gallons) permitted inside each clear bag
• weight limits must not exceed a weight of 13.6 kg (30 lbs)

• Every-other-week-garbage collection, except in the Downtown Business Improvements Association (DBIA) area that maintains its existing schedule

• maximum number lifts for property:
  • Six or fewer units: four bags per unit
  • Six or fewer units and at least one business unit: four bags per unit plus twelve bags for the business
  • Property comprised exclusively of one or more business units: twelve bags per property (not per unit)
  • Property within the DBIA: six bags per property, twice per week

Green Bins

Green Bins will be collected weekly for all properties that are included in the first phase of the program, including single-detached homes and multi-residential properties with 6 or less residences.

Green Bins are collected using a mechanical truck arm, therefore a minimum of two-feet clearance space is required around the bin. Please ensure Green Bins are placed near the curb with the arrow pointing toward the street, at least two feet away from other items, including blue boxes and garbage bags.

Full details on set out instructions and what is included in the Green Bin organics program are online at www.peterborough.ca/GreenBin.

Recycling

Blue box collection of recyclable material remains unchanged and continue weekly on the same day as Green Bin collection.

Yard Waste

Yard waste will continue to be collected at the curb seasonally between April and November as follows:

• Must weigh less than 13 kg (30 lbs)
• Must be in a yard waste container or bundled, do not place yard waste in the Green Bin
• Brush can be tied in bundles with light rope or twine, weighing not more than 13 kg (30 lbs), with a length of up to 1 m (3 ft) and a diameter of up to 30 cm (12 inches)
• Kraft paper bags, or bushel basket are acceptable

• Bins with a maximum volume of 80 L, with 2 fixed handles and removable lids. Bins must have two clearly identifiable labels attached defining the contents as “Green Waste”. Labels are available free of charge at City Hall, 500 George St. N.
• Yard Waste material must empty freely when emptied/dumped by the collector.
• No other type of bin will be collected (including blue boxes). No plastic bags or broken bins will be accepted

Collection schedule changes

To help ensure that waste collection services can continue to be delivered on schedule as the community continues to grow and to improve worker safety by balancing collection routes, weekly waste collection have changed for approximately 8,200 households. Notices were hand delivered to affected residents, and an online tool is available at www.peterborough.ca/WasteApp for residents to check their collection day.

Waste Collection By-Law

The updated Waste Collection By-Law establishes the requirements for collection of garbage, organic waste, recyclable materials, and yard waste in line with the Waste Management Master Plan. The new by-law introduces enforcement tools to address by-law contraventions.

The City’s approach will be to inform and educate residents during the early stages of this new program. The goal is to support the community throughout the implementation. Eventually, the new rules will the enforced, and items that are not in clear bags, or items in garbage cans will be left at the curb. In extreme cases of non-compliance, fines may be issued.

The changes support the safe implementation of the new programs outlined in the City’s recent Waste Management Master Plan update targeting a residential Diversion rate of 75%.

A comprehensive review of waste management best practices and extensive public consultation was completed as part of the 2022 Waste Management Master Plan (WMMP) Review and Update. The review identified the following proven diversion opportunities to increase waste diversion within the City of Peterborough:

1. Clear bag garbage collection to encourage residents into complying with recycling and organic waste separation guidelines that supports the WMMP waste diversion goal. Within the City, residential waste audits undertaken through 2021 / 2022 have identified up to 8% of material placed in the garbage stream is applicable to the residential blue box;
2. Every-other-week collection of residential garbage pick-up as a result of the SSO program diverting organic resources weekly out of the garbage stream, reducing the bulk of current garbage eligible material;
3. Implementation of the Green Bin program targeting compostable food material diversion (i.e., GROW Peterborough) into the SSO program will increase residential waste diversion by an incremental 15 to 20%;
4. Update the waste collection enforcement by-law to amend the language to include new definitions of the waste stream, collection requirements, and penalties for non-compliance of diverted waste as an option if public education efforts are not effective in changing disposal behaviours, and;
5. Continue exploration of waste diversion as new markets and partnership opportunities become available in Peterborough for other existing hard to recycle materials (i.e., carpets, bulky items, etc.).

In addition to these added waste initiatives, the 2022 WMMP update will continue with existing diversion programs offered by the City.

The update to the Waste Management Mater Plan (WMMP) was completed in 2022 identified additional opportunities to further improve waste diversion rates in the City of Peterborough through added activities. The review affirmed that the goals of the 2012 WWMP goals of maximizing waste diversion, minimizing waste generation, and maintaining fiscal responsibility were completed and/or still relevant for the 2022 WMMP iteration.

The review evaluated the waste disposed from 2012-2020, and a decrease of 3.7 percent in the amount of residential waste sent to landfill or 1,489 tonnes was observed. Diversion of materials away from the landfill recorded a rise of 0.7 percent or 126 tonnes despite the continuing decrease in the overall weight of blue box material available for collection despite the light weighting of packaging (i.e., glass to plastic) and the continued transition from print media.

The updated evaluation determined that an achievable residential diversion rate in Peterborough is between the range of 76 to 83 percent with the implementation of the recommendations within the new garbage collection program. In 2021, the total residential waste collected by the waste management system was 35,760 tonnes which diverted 52 percent or 18,525 tonnes of waste diverted from the landfill. Achieving the 76 to 83 percent diversion goal will be realized through the collective implementation of the SSO food diversion program, identified as GROW Peterborough, the transition to a clear garbage bag program, and the transition to an alternating frequency (bi-weekly) collection of garbage.

By the numbers

Approximately 8% (1,000 tonnes) of material in the garbage stream has been identified (consistently in historic audits of Peterborough residential waste) as targeted blue box material. A transition to a clear bag for garbage will contribute to reduced collection and landfill disposal costs and support longer-term landfill capacity. The clear bag and bi-weekly garbage collection will support diversion opportunities.

The increase in food waste diversion from landfill through the Green Bin (GROW Peterborough) project currently underway will result in the diversion of approximately 5,000 tonnes of residential organic material (per year from the City of Peterborough) being deposited in landfill and extend the capacity of the landfill accordingly.

Additionally, given that the moisture from the organic portion of the waste (garbage) stream contributes extensively to the production of greenhouse gases and leachate, the reduction of this material in the landfill will result in reduced detrimental environmental impacts and leachate treatment costs.

Weekly garbage and organics collection is not recommended due to the detrimental environmental and economic impacts; they would require additional equipment and staffing. It is estimated that increasing garbage collection to a weekly schedule would require an additional capital expense of approximately $3.2M, and annual increased operating expenses of approximately $1.6M per year indefinitely.

Curbside collection of garbage under a manual system utilizing clear bags offers substantial time-in-motion efficiencies over bins or automated cart-based programs in addition to substantial operating and capital cost savings. Therefore, collection of residential garbage every-other-week, as well as weekly Source Separated Organics collection as recommended in the WMMP can be completed by the existing City of Peterborough Public Works collection fleet and staffing.