Organics Collection Program (cont'd) - Halifax Regional Municipality

How It Works:

1. Collect all of your food scraps as you produce them in your kitchen mini-bin.
   If you have a lot of wet food scraps and want to reduce clean-up, you may want to take some old newspaper or other soiled paper, roll up into balls, and place on the bottom grate of the cart. Soiled & non-recyclable paper or boxboard materials can absorb excess moisture. You may also choose to wrap any meat or fish with paper to absorb moisture before placing into your cart.
   
   
   
2. Take the mini-bin outside and empty it into your large organics green cart.
   It's a good idea to add dry materials such as leaf and yard material along with the food scraps, paper and boxboard so that you have a good balance of materials in your cart.
   
   
   
3. Leaf & yard waste can be put in the cart as well.
   If you have more yard waste than will fit in the aerated cart, just place the excess in orange, clear or heavy paper bags along side the cart for collection.
   Place branches (no more than four feet long) in bundles beside the cart as well.
   There is a limit of 20 orange, clear or heavy paper bags for excess leaf and yard waste collected at the curb every two weeks alongside your cart.
   
   
   
4. Every two weeks (see the enclosed calendar), just place the cart next to the curb and we will empty it and take the contents for composting.
   Regular waste (garbage) and the cart are never collected on the same week.
   One week garbage is collected and the next week only the cart contents and excess leaf & yard material is picked up.
   

Tips:

• Occasionally during the summer months you may encounter fruit flies from the fruit you eat.
  To minimize this, you can rub the inside of your bin lid with vinegar and/or sprinkle a bit of rock salt or lime inside the green cart.
  
• The cart is specially designed to allow air to circulate, so carts are meant to be stored outside.
  
• Up to two bundles of branches (no more than four feet long ) are collected every two weeks with your cart for composting.
  
• To ensure material is collected, material must be placed at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on collection day.
  You can place material curbside the night before collection day after 9:00 p.m. Check your collection schedule to make sure you know what week you put out your regular waste what week you put out organics.

Print out this How It Works - Steps to the organics green cart program for an easy reminder. Place on your refrigerator along with the collection schedule.

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