Background
Canada’s capital city, and the Ontario province’s second largest, Ottawa (pop. 883,391) diverts nearly 50% of all collected waste from the landfill. In fact, the city has astonishingly high recycling rates for certain materials — rates that nearly any U.S. city would be jealous of: In 2010, Ottawans recycled 92% of all cardboard, 90% of newspapers, 73% of aluminum cans and 70% of steel and tin cans. Still, much work is left to be done. The city would like to see those overall recycling numbers soar above 50%, and it has established partnerships with nearly 500 area retailers to reuse or sell recyclables in hopes of incentivizing recycling even further.Materials recycled

- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal cans
- Soft drink cans
- Aluminum containers
- Aluminum foil
- Paint cans (lids removed)
- Aerosol cans (empty)
- Spiral-wound canisters with metal ends (e.g., Pringles cans)
- Plastic bottles, jars and jugs
- Plastic tubs and lids
- All food and household plastic containers (#1 through #7)
- Plastic pails (no metal handles)
- Plastic planting trays
- Plastic flower pots
- Single-serve yogurt containers
- Clear plastic egg cartons
- Milk and juice cartons
- TetraPak cartons
- Drink, soup and milk boxes
Black box
- Newspapers and fliers
- Magazines and catalogs
- Corrugated cardboard
- Telephone books
- Cereal and cracker boxes (no liners)
- Shoe and laundry detergent boxes
- Writing and computer paper, paper pads, advertising mailers
- Hard- and soft-cover books
- Paper egg cartons
- Toilet paper and paper towel rolls
- Wrapping paper and greeting cards
- Clean paper shopping bags or paper packaging
- Frozen dinner boxes
Frequency
Curbside pick-up occurs on a weekly basis, day of the week depending on location (an address lookup is available online.) Bins must be placed curbside by 7 a.m. on the day of pick-up, but not before 6 p.m. the day prior.Other programs
Green bins, used for organic waste composting, are collected on a weekly basis as well. An astounding number of items are accepted in these bins, including food scraps, yard waste and other household items:- Baking ingredients, herbs and spices
- Bread, cereals, crackers and grains
- Candy and gum
- Chips, popcorn and nuts
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Cookies, cakes, muffins and pastries
- Dairy products (cheese, sour cream)
- Dough
- Eggs and egg shells
- Fruits and vegetables
- Jams, jellies, marmalades or chutney
- Leftover cooking oils, lard, shortening, fat, butter and margarine
- Meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, bones and scraps
- Nuts and shells
- Pasta, beans, rice and couscous
- Peanut butter
- Pet food
- Pits (all types)
- Salad dressing, mayonnaise, vinegar, sauces, marinades, dips and gravy
- Seeds
- Tea and tea bags
- Branches, twigs and hedge trimmings
- Leaves
- Plants and weeds
- Grass clippings
- Animal bedding (e.g., bird and hamster cages)
- Barbeque ashes
- Butcher’s meat wrap
- Cold fireplace ash
- Cotton balls
- Dryer lint
- Floor sweepings, vacuum bags and vacuum contents
- Food-soiled paper towels, napkins and tissues
- Food-soiled pizza boxes (pizza boxes should not go in black bin)
- Household plants, including soil
- Kitty litter
- Microwave popcorn bags
- Paper coffee cups, plates and muffin wrappers
- Pet fur, hair and feathers
- Soiled paper, boxboard and cardboard
- Sugar, flour and potato paper bags
- Waxed paper, cardboard and cold drink cups
- Wooden popsicle sticks and toothpicks
- Wood chips, sawdust and untreated wood scraps (less than 4 inches in any dimension)