Victoria homeowners can expect to receive their new garbage and recycling bins in about a week in preparation for the February launch of the city’s kitchen-scrap collection program.
Delivery of the green and grey bins, a how-to guide and a new collection schedule will start next Thursday for households currently served by Victoria’s garbage-only program, city spokeswoman Katie Josephson said.
About 14,000 sets of bins will be delivered to backyards throughout the month. All households will receive a standard 120-litre green bin for kitchen scraps, a small “kitchen catcher” bin for daily collection of scraps and a grey bin for garbage. The grey bins come in three sizes, depending on residents’ preferences.
The change comes as Victoria and other capital region municipalities work to eliminate kitchen scraps from the waste stream in preparation for a Jan. 1, 2015, ban on the material at the Capital Regional District’s Hartland Landfill.
Under Victoria’s new system, residents will separate compostable kitchen material from garbage.
When the new collection system begins on Feb. 4, city crews will pick up the wheeled totes in backyards every two weeks. They will leave the empty totes at the curb.
It will be up to residents to sort compostable material from regular garbage, and they’ll pay less if they opt for a smaller garbage bin.
The grey garbage bins come in sizes of 80 litres, 120 litres and 180 litres, with an annual cost of $168, $183 and $204, respectively. Those fees will replace the current annual garbage-only fee of $202.
Residents were asked last summer to select the size of grey bin they wanted. About 19 per cent responded, Josephson said.
Ten percent of account holders chose 80-litre bins and six per cent chose the 180-litre containers. Those who didn’t respond will receive 120-litre bins.
If residents want to change the size of the garbage bin they are to receive, they can email greenbin@victoria.ca or call 250-361-0448. After Feb. 28, there will be a $30 change fee to replace a bin.
The overall goal is to extend the life of the landfill. It is estimated that without diverting kitchen waste, it would be full by 2035. With kitchen diversion in place, the landfill is expected to last until 2047.
Such other Island communities as Nanaimo, View Royal and Oak Bay already collect kitchen scraps. Saanich’s program will begin in earnest in 2014.
According to Victoria’s website, materials that will be acceptable in the new “green bin” for kitchen scraps include meat, fish, poultry, bones, dairy products, bread, solidified fats and grease, fruit, vegetables, plate scrapings and such soiled paper products as paper towels and tissues, food packaging and used paper cups and plates.
Materials acceptable in the “grey bin” for garbage include: makeup remover pads, cotton swabs and balls, dental floss, rubber bands, dryer sheets, lint, cigarettes and butts, vacuum contents and bags, pet-food bags and other lined bags, foil chip and cookie bags, butter wrappers, bagged pet feces, hair, bread clips or ties, diapers, baby wipes and sanitary hygiene products.
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