Collected weekly from spring to fall, and every 2 weeks in the winter, using a cart provided by the City.
If you have spare room in your food scraps cart, you can top it up with yard waste as long as the lid can be fully closed.
Learn how to reduce food waste
Food Scraps Pail Information
Food scraps pails were provided to residents with their carts to help make the transition easier for sorting food scraps and placing them into the food scraps cart. These pails are considered a freebie and residents are not required to leave them with their carts if they move houses. If you lose your food scraps pail or if you move into a house that doesn’t have one, the City is not required to provide you with a new pail. If you are moving, please bring your pail with you.
Manufacturer Warranty Program
Your food scraps pail has a 5-year manufacturer warranty against cracking, deterioration, rotting, warping, discoloration and other defects in material workmanship. If your food scraps pail is damaged from normal and intended household use, bring it to any Eco Station for a replacement.
To replace your food scraps pail at an Eco Station, please ensure the following:
- Your food scraps pail is clean so it can be recycled properly
- The pail includes all parts: body, lid and handle
This only applies to food scraps pails provided by the City to residents. If the damage on your food scraps pail was not from regular intended use it will not be accepted for replacement (Examples of damages not from regular intended use include burning, hot stamp removal, chemical stains and modifications).
Tips for Sorting your Food Scraps
All solid food waste is accepted in the food scraps cart, which is collected weekly from spring to fall, and every two weeks in the winter.
This includes:
- Spoiled food
- Scraps and peelings
- Meat, fish and poultry
- Bones and eggshells
- Dairy products
- Coffee grounds and tea
- Food-soiled napkins and paper towels
- All packaging must be removed
Liners are not required in your food scraps pail. While the most environmentally friendly choice is to not use a liner, some people find it helps them manage their food scraps more easily. If you choose to use a liner, paper is more environmentally friendly than plastic. Small pieces of paper are composted, while large amounts of paper are removed as contamination.
Plastic bags or compostable liners can be used, but are sorted out at our processing facility as garbage. Compostable plastics, including BPI/BNQ-certified bags, do not break down in our composting process. They need higher temperatures and longer processing times than food scraps.
Yard waste and grass clippings can be added to the food scraps cart if you have extra space.
Material from the food scraps cart will be processed at the Anaerobic Digestion Facility and through contracted partners in the Edmonton region.
