Fall has arrived in the North Okanagan, and the City of Vernon is offering tips and reminders to help residents manage their curbside organics carts this season.
Residents are encouraged to follow the city’s tips to ensure their carts can be completely emptied during collection.
Tips for complete collection:
Overfilling organics carts or adding too much weight can cause material to get stuck in the bins. This can lead to only partial collection. To ensure bins are fully collected, the city offers the following tips:
• Layer kitchen organics with yard waste (such as leaves) and soiled paper or newspaper.
• Keep materials loose in the cart.
• Avoid overfilling the cart (the lid must close in order to be collected).
• Avoid pushing down or compacting materials in the cart.
• Avoid placing large amounts of wet leaves and yard waste in the cart. This can become heavy and compacted very quickly.
• Place carts at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day. Please do not place carts the night before, as this can attract wildlife.
• Ensure carts placed at the curb are one metre (an arm’s length) away from all other objects.
• Ensure all materials in your organics cart are compostable. Rocks, soil, plastic bags, animal waste and branches that are more than half an inch in diameter cannot be collected.
Tips to keep your cart clean:
• Wrap kitchen waste in newspaper or a BPI-certified compostable bag before placing it in the cart. Alternatively, you can freeze kitchen waste until collection day.
• Place a piece of cardboard at the bottom of your cart to keep waste from sticking.
• Rinse your cart periodically with water and vinegar and then sprinkle it with baking soda.
• Store your cart indoors. If it must be outdoors, choose a ventilated area.
• Place your organics cart for collection every week, even if it’s only partially filled.
• Keep the lid closed at all times.
Tips for managing additional organic waste:
Weight restrictions for Vernon’s curbside waste collection carts are as follows:
• 120L cart: 50 kg (110 lbs)
• 240L cart: 75 kg (165 lbs)
Pumpkins can be composted after Halloween, but be mindful of how much weight you’re placing in the bin. If you have more material than can fit in your bin, consider storing the additional material until your next collection day, or take larger amounts of yard waste to the Greater Vernon Diversion and Disposal Facility, where residential yard and garden waste can be disposed of at no cost.
Organics carts must be placed with wheels towards the curb. If they are backwards they cannot be emptied by the automated collection trucks. Residents must also leave one metre of space between carts to ensure the trucks can pick them up.
For more information on Vernon’s curbside organics collection program and a list of accepted compostable materials, visit vernon.ca/organics.
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