Green pails coming to Edmonton apartments and condos, starting this fall

Aug 30, 2023

Edmontonians who live in apartment buildings and condominiums will get green pails for food scraps, starting this fall.

People in the city's southeast will be the first apartment and condo dwellers in the city to sort their waste into three separate streams for compostables, recyclables and regular trash.

The city will begin to expand its waste collection program to condos, apartment buildings, row houses and other multi-unit buildings starting in October.

The rollout will happen in phases, reaching multi-unit buildings in all neighbourhoods by the end of 2027.

The source-separated collection system will eventually include residents of around 170,000 units in the city's 3,400 apartment and condo buildings.

The new system began with single family homes, which got green and black waste carts starting in the spring of 2021.

Residents in southeast Edmonton can find out here when their building is expected to join cart collection.

Shortly before collection begins at each building, residents will receive small green pails for household food scraps.

Building managers will be provided large bins for compost and recyclables. Residents will dump their food scraps pails into the green bins. They will be able to use blue bags for recyclables or just drop them into their building's recyclables bin.

The city's waste service bylaw requires that containers for each type of waste be provided at all disposal locations. Food scraps, recycling and garbage containers must be side by side and equally accessible to residents in all disposal locations.

The city will recommend where waste containers should be placed, either outdoors or in existing trash sorting rooms.

Watch: green bins hit apartments and condos across Edmonton

Curtis Siracky, president of CS Management Inc., an Edmonton-based condominium management firm, is concerned about how the new system will impact the 64 condo buildings his company manages. Most are in south Edmonton.

Siracky said none of his properties have received instructions on where bins should be placed and communication with the city has been limited.

He worries that the bins will bring unpleasant smells, unwelcome mess and added costs to property managers.

"Condominiums will have to look at site services to maintain these bins, not only cleanliness but smells and bugs," he said.

Some properties don't have space to accommodate the new bins, Siracky said.

High-rise buildings that rely on a single garbage chute on each floor to dispose of trash will find it especially difficult to meet the guidelines for locating large bins side by side, he said.

"I can't see it being a successful campaign at the beginning. It's going take a lot of work. And that's going fall on the condo managers ... they're going to be left holding the bag."

Siracky said his biggest concern is around compliance. The city strategy is too reliant on property owners to manage enforcement, he said.

"People live in condos for convenience," he said. "They don't necessarily want to do these things.

"There's going be a lot of people who are going ignore it."

Vahid Rashidi, a program director for waste management with the city, said the change is worth it. Creating three streams for city waste diverts a significant amount of trash from landfill, he said.

Rashidi said he recognizes that space is a concern for property owners. Bins will offered in a variety of sizes to accommodate tight spaces and the city is working with property managers who are struggling to make it work, he said.

City workers plan to visit each building before the rollout begins to educate residents and managers about how best to separate their waste, he said.

Outreach teams will also visit each property in the weeks after to seek feedback from residents and answer questions.

"The City of Edmonton has these resources available for residents to help and support them," Rashidi said in an interview. "We recognize, however, that every single property in the city is different and it has unique circumstances.

"That's why this rollout is happening over a period of four years so we can take our time, work with property owners and residents, and take their feedback."

Rashidi encouraged people to review the City of Edmonton website for tips on how to properly sort their waste, and to learn more about what is required of property managers.

"This isn't an easy change for many people but it is a possible change ... the city is putting all the support and resources in place for people."

With files from Emily Fitzpatrick