What Does Not Go In?

If you got an OOPS! sticker on your green cart you might have put something in it that doesn't go in it. Your green cart takes a lot of things, but not everything!

Check the list below to see if you put one of these things in it:

Aluminum foil - blue box Animal carcasses - look in the phone book Ceramics - garbage Compostable chip bags - garbage (see below) Dead animals - look in the phone book Diapers - garbage Dirt, earth, soil or sod - look in the phone book Drinking straws - garbage Dryer sheets - garbage Glass jars - blue box Hazardous waste - Community Recycling Centres Medical waste - return to your pharmacy or Hotz Pet waste - garbage Plastic bags and containers - blue box Rocks - look in the phone book Sanitary products - garbage Styrofoam products - blue box Textiles - garbage Tree stumps - look in the phone book Wood (treated or large pieces) - look in the phone book

Compostable chip bags hitting the shelves and manufacturers are to be commended for their efforts. However, the City of Hamilton does not accept chip bags of any kind in its Green Cart Program.

Products being introduced are made of polylactic acid (PLA), which is a corn starch-based product. It is fully compostable under the right conditions and carries the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) logo, which also appears on the compostable liners that the City accepts in the Green Cart program.

The difference between this chip bag and the liners that are acceptable in green carts is that the compostable chip bag has three (3) layers of PLA and breaks down in about 14 weeks under ideal composting conditions, while the liners are a single layer and break down in 1 to 3 weeks.

At the City’s Central Composting Facility material received is composted in tunnels for 21 days. As such, the chip bag will not break down in the City’s composting process and will have to be screened out and landfilled.

Arrangements have been made for the City to undertake a controlled test of the bags in our compost process.