How to sort food scraps, produce baskets and crates
It’s officially canning season, and you may be starting to preserve fruits and vegetables, and make homemade jams, sauces and more. When you have leftover food scraps, fruit and vegetable peels, produce crates and bushel baskets, do you know where to dispose of them? The City of Vaughan is providing tips to help you sort these items properly to keep Vaughan safe, clean and beautiful.
Food, food scraps and peels belong in the green bin or your backyard composter. The City collects unlimited green bins weekly on your scheduled collection day. Please bag and tie your materials securely.
Never dispose of fruit peels and other food products down a catch basin. Anything going down a catch basin enters the stormwater system, leading directly into the nearest creek, river or stormwater management pond. This water is untreated before eventually travelling into Lake Ontario – the source of Vaughan’s drinking water – so it’s important to ensure only rain goes down the drain!
Wooden crates and bushel baskets used to hold produce should be bagged and placed in the garbage. They cannot be composted or recycled in the blue box.
Do you want a backyard composter? The City sells composters online at vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughan with instructions on how to successfully turn your food scraps and leaves into garden fertilizer. You can also purchase City-branded blue boxes and green bins through Service Vaughan and get them delivered right to your door. Alternatively, buy them in person at select community centres.
Are you still unsure where to properly dispose of an item or material? Check by using the City’s online ‘What Goes Where?’ sorting tool. You can also download the Recycle Coach app through the Apple App Store or Google Play to check where waste items belong. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week.
For more information on waste services in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.
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