Sort waste right this Thanksgiving

Mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, turkey and apple pie – these are some of the foods you may be looking forward to enjoying on Thanksgiving. But do you know where to dispose of everyday cooking and dining items, such as aluminum trays, paper plates and leftover food? The City of Vaughan is providing helpful tips for citizens on how to sort these items correctly to help reduce what’s sent to the landfill and make collection days run smoothly.

Aluminum trays, black plastic containers and cutlery

Empty and rinsed aluminum trays can be disposed of in the blue box – be sure to wash away food residue. Oils and turkey fat go in your green bin, never down the drain. Not all plastics are recyclable, even if they have the recycling symbol on the product or packaging. Black plastic cannot be recycled in York Region and must go in the garbage – this includes black plastic forks, knives, spoons and containers, usually used for takeout.

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins go in the green bin. Using your green bin is easy! Place items in compostable bags if you can, but plastic bags are accepted. Please bag and tie securely and ensure green bins set out to the curb for collection days weigh less than 20.5 kilograms (45 pounds).

Leftover food

Wasted food makes up an increasing amount of garbage and can cost households a lot of money each year. Let’s work together to reduce food waste this holiday season and beyond.

Leftover food can be placed in your green bin. Green bin material is transformed into nutrient-rich compost that is used to fertilize farmer’s fields. Alternatively, consider saving your leftover food by freezing it, repurposing it for another meal or giving it to family or friends.

Are you interested in composting at home? The City provides backyard composters for sale, with instructions on how to successfully turn your food scraps and leaves into garden fertilizer. By setting up a composter, you can produce free fertilizer that will improve the quality of your soil and the plants growing in it, and you will be helping to reduce waste set out for curbside collection. To purchase a backyard composter from the City, visit vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughan. You can also purchase City-branded blue boxes and green bins through Service Vaughan and get them delivered right to your door.

Leaf and yard waste collection

Weekly leaf and yard waste collection starts Tuesday, Oct. 19. These materials will be collected every week until the week of Tuesday, Dec. 7. Leaf and yard waste can be placed out in Kraft paper bags or open-top rigid containers with handles, up to 121 litres (32 gallons) in size, and clearly marked “Leaf and Yard Waste.”

Protect yard waste bags from getting wet! Overweight or broken bags cannot be collected, so ensure you keep your bags dry and only set them out on collection day.

Acceptable leaf and yard waste materials include:

• plant material (no soil) and leaves
• branches, twigs and cuttings that are tied in secure bundles and less than 1.5 metres (five feet) in length and 0.6 metres (two feet) in diameter, weighing less than 20.5 kilograms (45 pounds)
• individual branches that are less than 10 centimetres (four inches) in diameter, bundled securely
• pumpkins, straw and cornstalks

Visit the City’s leaf and yard waste webpage for more information.

If you’re still unsure about where a waste item belongs, download the City’s Recycle Coach App through the Apple App Store or Google Play for information on sorting your items. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week. The City also offers an online sorting tool so you can quickly and easily check what item goes where using the search bar.

View the 2021 Waste Collection Schedule (PDF) online. The schedule includes Double-Up Days, leaf and yard waste collection and other important waste reminders for the year. Citizens can also keep an eye on the City’s social media channels for our new, bi-weekly Waste Less Mondays campaign for quick tips on sorting and waste disposal.

The City of Vaughan is a leader in waste management. Vaughan’s early commitment to York Region’s SM4RT Living Plan (Waste Management Master Plan) further strengthens that promise. This plan identifies initiatives that set the stage for waste management to 2059 and beyond, focusing on the four Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover – working toward a world in which nothing goes to waste.

For more information about waste services in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

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