City of Calgary's 'Green Cart program' launching June 2017

The City of Calgary is gearing up to roll out the city-wide Green Cart program starting in June 2017.

See also

• 2016 year in review: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi talks economy and the Calgary spirit (VIDEO)

After a successful pilot project the program is now being implemented permanently. The carts will be rolled out by quadrant. Once all residents in a quadrant have their carts, then collection will begin as follows:

• Southwest: Week of July 17
• Northeast: Week of September 4
• Northwest: Week of August 14
• Southeast: Week of October 2

Along with the green carts, Calgarians will receive everything they need to get started including a kitchen pail and samples of compostable bags for collecting food scraps, samples of paper yard waste bags for extra yard waste that doesn’t fit inside the cart, an instruction guide and collection schedule.

What can be composted

• All food (raw and cooked)
  • Meat, fish, shellfish and bones
  • Plate scrapings
  • Fruits and vegetables (Remove any stickers).
  • Bread, pasta, noodles, rice, beans, couscous, grains, crackers, cereal
  • Eggs, eggshells and dairy products (e.g. cheese, sour cream, etc.)
  • Cooking oil, lard, shortening, butter, sauces, grease, dips, salad dressing, mayonnaise and gravy
  • Pastries, cookies, cakes and muffins
  • Nuts, seeds, pits, chips, popcorn and candy
• Food soiled paper
  • Paper plates
  • Coffee grounds, coffee filters and tea bags
  • Food-soiled paper towels, napkins and tissues
• Yard waste
  • Leaves and pine cones
  • Plants and flowers
  • Branches, twigs, and hedge prunings (Less than 15 cm in diameter and 1.25 m in length so it can fit inside the green cart)
  • Grass clippings and sod
  • Weeds
  • Garden soil, sand and untreated mulch
  • Christmas trees (Trunks must be less than 15 cm in diameter and the tree cut down into 1.25 m lengths.)
  • Hay
• Pet waste
  • Dog waste and kitty litter. (Must be collected in a certified compostable bag or paper bag).
  • Animal bedding (e.g. from pet cages)
  • Pet food and treats
  • Pet fur, hair or feathers
• Other
  • Cold barbeque or fireplace ashes
  • Untreated lumber
  • Wood shavings/sawdust
  • Wooden popsicle sticks, chopsticks and toothpicks

Blue and green carts will be collected every week. Black carts will now be collected once every two weeks on a different day since you can cut your garbage in half by using your green cart.

If you’re having trouble figuring out what can be composted, the City has created an online resource to help you out.