Food Waste Collection - FAQ - Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot

Composting

[toggle title=”Why compost?” style=”fancy”]

Reduce the amount of waste we produce.
Improve local waste management.
Lower landfill costs.
Decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Shrink our ecological footprint.
View our waste as a recoverable resource.
Take advantage of compost, a natural fertilizer made from waste collected by your municipality.

All these reasons are good reasons to recycle food waste. In fact, more than 300 municipalities in Quebec are already collecting food waste and, apart from resistance to change, 72% of residents now feel that the benefits of composting are worth the effort and time required. (Source: RECYC-QUÉBEC, 2014/2015 annual report)

Environmental issues

Did you know that 57% of domestic waste placed at the curb is recoverable organic matter?

That amounts to 162 kg of food waste, yard waste, grass clippings and dead leaves per person per year. (Source: RECYC-QUÉBEC, 2012/2013 analysis of residential waste)

This organic matter is not waste, although we currently consider it to be waste and pay to dispose of it. It is an invaluable resource for making compost and enriching our soil. In fact, when organic matter is buried, it causes major problems in landfills. In the absence of oxygen, the decomposition process results in significant emissions of GHGs and other compounds harmful to the environment and to health.

The statistics speak for themselves!

According to RECYC-QUÉBEC, waste collection and transportation generate a minimal amount of GHGs when compared with the benefits of diverting 60% of a municipality’s organic waste from landfill to composting. According to the Quebec Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MDDELCC), most of Quebec’s GHG emissions from waste were due to buried organic matter.

Government policies and financial penalties of the MDDELCC

By 2020, according to the objectives set out in the Quebec Residual Materials Management Policy (the Policy), it will be prohibited in Quebec to throw out organic matter. The goal is to recover 60% of the organic matter generated across all sectors (residential and industrial, commercial and institutional). That is why our region needs your co-operation in this collective project!

Under the MDDELCC’s new 2016 regulatory framework, financial penalties are imposed on municipalities that fail to meet the objectives of the Policy. The two waste management plans (PGMR and PMGMR) in effect in the MRC meet the requirements of the Policy and include a number of measures that must be implemented with respect to organic matter, such as the introduction of a food waste collection program in 2018.

You can check the progress made on your municipality’s PGMR and PMGMR plans by visiting the website of the RCM at www.mrcvs.ca.

Organic matter: Brown gold for the gardener!

Food and yard waste, including dead leaves, branches and grass clippings, are too often perceived as waste for the landfill. However, in addition to causing serious environmental problems in landfills, these “wastes” are real resources.

The gardener’s “brown gold,” compost resulting from the decomposition of organic matter is a source of natural fertilizer for crops, flower beds and vegetable gardens, in addition to promoting moisture retention, improving soil structure and reducing erosion. Given the current environmental problems and the steady deterioration and loss of arable land, the real question is: What are we waiting for to stop wasting this resource?

Food waste collection will help recycle your leftovers.

As for your grass clippings, leave them on the ground and practise grasscycling!

For your dead leaves, shred them on site and practise leaf mulching!

For yard waste, recycle it in a household composter to make compost.

These practices are strongly encouraged and offer many benefits:

Provide the equivalent of 25% of the recommended annual amount of fertilizer for your lawn.
Increase the organic matter content of your soil.

Your soil will retain more moisture and your lawn will be hardier during heat waves and watering bans!

Note: Grass clippings, dead leaves and yard waste are not accepted as part of the food waste collection.

For more information on the various services available and the schedule for the collection of yard waste, branches and dead leaves or local recycling by farmers, visit the website of the City of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot or contact the One-Stop Centre at 514-453-4128, option 0, or guichetunique@ndip.org.

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[toggle title=”Why brown bins if we are already doing household composting?” style=”fancy”]

Brown bin: The perfect complement to your household composter

Do you already compost at home and recycle your fruit and vegetable peels, bread, coffee grounds, yard waste, and dead leaves? Your compost is brown gold, a natural fertilizer; don’t change your habits!

Food waste collection will be an opportunity for you to maximize the use of other materials such as table scraps, which do not go into your household composter, such as meat, fish, leftovers, pasta and salads containing sauces or vinaigrette.

In practice, a household that does household composting will still put 1.5 to 2.5 kg of material into the brown bin each week…or 100 kg per year! A mere dozen residences can yield one tonne of material diverted from the landfill site and recycled per year! In addition, in winter, the brown bin will be easier to access than the composter at the far end of the property.

The time has therefore come to complement the ever-relevant use of the household composter. Door-to-door collection by means of the brown bin will promote the recycling of >all food waste.

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[toggle title=”What is done with the collected materials?” style=”fancy”]

The collected materials are transported to GSI Englobe’s processing site in Lachute, which won the call for tenders of the RCM of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The brown bin materials are mixed with structuring agents such as wood chips and then stacked outside in windrows. The windrows are turned over to speed up decomposition. The mature compost is then sifted and sold to businesses and farmers or redistributed to municipalities that exercise this contract option.

Note: Yard and leaf waste is not accepted as part of the food waste collection.

The process produces compost (topsoil)

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[toggle title=”Will some of the compost produced be redistributed to residents?” style=”fancy”]

The collected materials are transported, sorted and recovered on a composting platform. The mature compost is then sifted and redistributed to municipalities that exercise this contract option.

For more information, visit the website of the City of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot or contact the One-Stop Centre at 514-453-4128, option 0, or guichetunique@ndip.org.

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[toggle title=”Who is responsible for food waste collection?” style=”fancy”]

Each municipality in the RCM is responsible for collecting and transporting food waste within its boundaries and for distributing and managing brown bins. The RCM of Vaudreuil-Soulanges is responsible for managing the processing of the food waste collected and the quality of the compost produced by the service provider.

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[toggle title=”Why a 45-litre bin?” style=”fancy”]

The experience of more than 300 municipalities in Quebec that have implemented the collection has helped identify success stories and make documented recommendations. A smaller bin has been shown to have a lower contamination rate. Given that the amount of table scraps generated per home is about 2 kg per week, the capacity of the bin is more than sufficient.

In addition, food waste collection in the RCM excludes yard and leaf waste, which is bulkier.

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Managing the kitchen bin

Materials do not need to be packed before they are placed in the wheeled bin. Everything can be put in loose, directly from your small kitchen bin into your brown bin. We encourage you to do it this way, which is greener and more economical!

[toggle title=”Why did you distribute bags for kitchen and brown bins?” style=”fancy”]

The bags distributed to you at the same time as your wheeled bin are intended to help you find YOUR management method. Once used, you can get new ones at your local grocery and hardware store, or pack your materials in paper bags, newsprint, flyers or cardboard or, even better, leave them loose in your bins!

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[toggle title=”Plastic bags: Why are they not allowed?” style=”fancy”]

Whether they are 100% compostable, oxy-degradable or biodegradable, plastic bags are not accepted as part of the food waste collection. The materials allowed and not allowed in your brown bin depend on your location and the processing technology used.

The site to which we send the materials is an open site that cannot accept materials packed in plastic bags, because of the smell, which is completely different when the bags are opened. For that reason, the certificate of authorization granted to them by the MDDELCC does not permit them to accept materials in “plastic” bags.

More importantly, the degradation cycle of “plastic” compostable bags is much longer than the composting cycle of other materials, which means that at the end of the composting cycle, shreds of so-called biodegradable bags can be found in the final product, which is not desirable. It is then difficult to remove it all by sifting. The same applies to compostable tableware made of “plastic” material, which is also not accepted.

The accepted materials are therefore location- and process-specific. The same principle applies to recyclable materials that depend on the sorting centre and on demand for the materials

Given the diverse range and the complexity of the different types of bags available on the market, the risk of contamination and rejection when processing organic matter is too high. In addition, these bags increase operating costs.

Please use paper bags, soiled cardboard or newsprint instead.

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[toggle title=”Paper bags: Where can I get them?” style=”fancy”]

At any grocery store or hardware store. Paper bags with or without a cellulose lining may be used.

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[toggle title=”Alternatives to paper bags” style=”fancy”]

Use newsprint, flyers, paper grocery bags, cardboard containers or soiled cardboard.

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Managing the brown bin

[toggle title=”How do I prevent smells, flies and maggots in my wheeled bin and small kitchen bin?” style=”fancy”]

Store meat and smelly materials in your freezer until collection day.
Clean your bin with a disinfectant such as vinegar or biodegradable soap. Avoid using bleach, as it can end up in streams and is highly toxic to aquatic wildlife.
Sprinkle the materials with a deodorant such as baking soda.
Store your bin in the shade.

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[toggle title=”How to keep squirrels or raccoons away from your brown bin?” style=”fancy”]

To keep squirrels or raccoons away from the brown bin, coat the lid with cough ointment containing mint, camphor and eucalyptus oils.

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[toggle title=”Who owns the bin?” style=”fancy”]

The City owns the bin.

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[toggle title=”What do I do with the bin if I move?” style=”fancy”]

Like the recycling bin, the brown bin is associated with an address and must remain at that address for the next owner or occupant.

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[toggle title=”What if my brown bin breaks, is lost or is stolen?” style=”fancy”]

Contact the One-Stop Centre at 514-453-4128, option 0, or guichetunique@ndip.org.

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[toggle title=”Can I have a second bin?” style=”fancy”]

No, only one 45-litre bin is provided to each residence. Local food waste collection does not include yard or leaf waste, which may be bulky. As well, the biggest generators of food waste, such as industries, businesses and institutions, are not included in the first phase of the food waste collection implementation.

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[toggle title=”What do I do when I go on vacation?” style=”fancy”]

Simply put your brown bin out the week before you leave, clean it and leave it empty until you return (you can store materials in the freezer or refrigerator between the collection date and the date of your departure, if necessary). In summer, you may find “undesirables” in your bin if it contains food waste and is left in the heat for too long. Have a great vacation!

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[toggle title=”Can I put compostable tableware in the bin?” style=”fancy”]

No, please put compostable tableware in the garbage can; it will naturally decompose. The materials allowed and not allowed in your bin depend on your location and the processing technology.

Given the diverse range and the complexity of the different types of compostable tableware available on the market, the risk of contamination and rejection when processing organic matter is considerable.

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[toggle title=”Can I put grass cuttings, dead leaves, weeds and other yard waste in my brown bin?” style=”fancy”]

No, Yard waste, garden waste and dead leaves are not accepted as part of the food waste collection.

As for your grass clippings, leave them on the ground and practise grasscycling!

For your dead leaves, shred them on site and practise leaf mulching!

For yard waste, recycle it in a household composter to make compost.

These practices are strongly encouraged and offer many benefits:

Provide the equivalent of 25% of the recommended annual amount of fertilizer for your lawn.
Increase the organic matter content of your soil.

Your soil will retain more moisture and your lawn will be hardier during heat waves and watering bans!

[toggle title=”Can industries, businesses and institutions participate in food waste collection?” style=”fancy”]

The first phase planned for 2018 is for the residential sector and covers single-family dwellings and multi-family dwellings of up to five units. In 2019, multi-family dwellings of more than five units will be served and, in 2020, industries, businesses and institutions will be served by a municipal collection service.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”Will leaf and yard waste collection be continued?” style=”fancy”]

We encourage you to practice grasscycling and shred dead leaves (leaf mulching). Nature has already developed a high-performance recovery system for these materials, so we can leave them on the ground, rather than break our backs to pick them up and then pay for their transportation and processing! Your lawn and flower beds will thank you for providing fertilizer and organic matter. Aesthetically, the waste is not visible if the mowing is regular, and it completely disappears within 48 hours!