Green Bin
Green Bin
The Green Bin is used to collect food waste, soiled paper products and small amounts of yard waste.
NOTE: Collectors must see food waste in the Green Bin in order to pick it up. You may include some yard waste as long as food waste is visible.
It is collected every week. Have it out for collection by 6 a.m. on your collection day. The Green Bin and its contents must weigh less than 30kg (66lbs).
You may use a paper or an allowable compostable green bin liner (look for the BPI-certified symbol shown below).
See a video on how to put out your Green Bin so it is collected as expected.
Reducing waste = climate action
Change for climate by reducing your waste and by diverting it properly. Garbage sent to landfill contributes to climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.
Need a Green Bin, kitchen container or backyard composter?
You may get a new or replacement Green Bin if yours has been lost, stolen or broken at (reminder: only one Green Bin is allowed per household):
Kingston Area Recycling Centre, 196 Lappan's Lane. Please bring your damaged Green Bin with you to have it replaced.
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Monday to Friday – Damaged Green Bins may be dropped outside and new or replacement Green Bins picked-up inside the administrative building, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Saturday – New or replacement Green Bins may be picked up at the scalehouse.
The City only collects Green Bin materials from City-issued Green Bins. . A choice of either a 80L or 45L will be provided at the time of pick-up (there will be no option to switch sizes at a later date). Each property may put out one Green Bin. Material put out in additional Green Bins or yard waste bags will not be collected (paper leaf bags are only picked up during fall leaf collection).
Kitchen containers, for collecting food waste in your kitchen, can also be purchased at KARC for $4.10.
Backyard composters are also available at KARC for $54. The Green Bin takes items that can't be put in backyard composters – like meat, bones, shells, dairy products, fats and oils.
What goes in the Green Bin?
DO put these in your Green Bin:
- Fruits and vegetable scraps
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Meat poultry and bones
- Fish shellfish and shells
- Dairy products
- Butter, margarine, lard and grease (solid)
- Bread and baked goods
- Rice pasta and grains
- Eggs and egg shells
- Condiments
- Paper towels and tissues
- Greasy pizza boxes (collapsed to fit)
- Microwaveable popcorn bags
- Paper plates
- Yard waste (but collectors must see food waste in green bin in order to collect it)
- Dryer lint, hair, and nail clippings
- Sawdust and wood chips (contained in paper bags, so it does not blow into a collector's face)
DO NOT put these in your Green Bin:
- Animal carcasses (roadkill, wild game, etc.)
- Roots and sod
- Oxo-biodegradable liners (green bin liners must show the compostable symbol shown below)
- Sand
- Pet waste and litter
- Feminine hygiene products
- Cooking oil and other liquids
- Dryer sheets, cotton balls and swabs
- Gravel, stones, dirt
Don't know where it goes? Use our Waste Sorting Look-up.
Green Bin liners = happy green bin users
Though they are not required, the use of Green Bin and kitchen container liners can help reduce odours, improve cleanliness and helps ensure that all materials are collected. Liners can also prevent material from freezing to the green bin in the winter.
- Paper liners: A great choice! Look for paper food waste bags at grocery and hardware stores or use newspaper or any other paper product (like paper bags, magazines,etc.) to line your bin or kitchen container.
- Compostable liners: BPI or Certified Compostable Bags (one or both the logos below) are accepted in the green bin. They are available at grocery and hardware stores.
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Green Lid compost container: Residents are able to use the Green Lid compost containers in the City's green bins. Please make sure to only place the container in the green bin. The lid is not compostable and needs to be placed in the garbage.
NOTE: Not all kitchen container or Green Bin liners sold in Kingston are accepted in Kingston Green Bins. Bags that are marked "Oxo-Degradable" or produce bags are not accepted in Kingston Green Bins.
Look for the BPI or Certified Compostable logo!
Make sure your green bin is collected as expected
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Place acceptable items loosely or in an acceptable liner and set your City green bin out at the curb by 6 a.m. as close to the roadway as possible, without obstructing the sidewalk on your collection day every week (see collection calendar).
- The Green Bin and its contents must weigh less than 30kg (66lbs).
- The Green Bin must be able to close without material sticking out of the top lip of the bin.
- The Green Bin may be used for yard waste, but food waste must be visible to collection to ensure collection. To meet this requirement: place the contents of your kitchen container – either loose or in an acceptable liner – in the top of your green bin when setting it out for collection.
Missed collection or other collection issues
Was your waste missed? Review the possible reasons why it may have been left behind.
