Ottawa to start curbside compost pickup

The city of Ottawa will turn yet a deeper shade of green in March 2009, when it willbegin collectingresidents' organic foodwaste in curbside composting bins, the city council decided Wednesday.

The new green-bin program willcomplement the city's existing blue boxes (for glass, metal and plastic)and black boxes (for paper and cardboard), and is expected to compost about 100,000 tonnes a year of kitchen scraps and other organic material that now goes to landfill sites.

"Separating this valuable waste from our garbage will extend the lifespan of the city's Trail Road landfill site," Mayor Larry O'Brien said in a news release.

"Ottawa residents are already working hard to divert recyclable materials from landfills through the blue- and black-box programs," said Richard Hewitt, deputy city manager of public works and services.

"The green-bin program will allow them to take the next step to significantly reduce the amount of garbage going to local landfills," he said.

The city awarded the contract to process and sell the collected organics to Orgaworld Canada Ltd.

Startup costs for the program will be $16.8 million, the city said,and it will cost $13 million a year to operate, which works out to $34 per household per year.