Curbside Waste Education Program

This summer, our Curbside Waste Education Team will visit neighbourhoods across Edmonton to have a closer look at how residents are sorting their waste and setting out their food scraps cart, garbage cart and recycling.

What to Expect from our Team

As part of this program, staff will look inside carts, check blue bags, and take photographs of some waste set outs. Through this program, we hope to:

Encourage residents to sort and set out waste correctly

Collect information about items that are commonly sorted incorrectly

Learn about challenges residents have when using the curbside collection program

Learn more about households that are working to reduce their waste

Improve our waste education programs to more accurately address resident needs

If Curbside Waste Education staff see room for improvement, they may leave behind an “Oops” tag or door hanger. These materials give you more information on how to improve your sorting or set out in the future. They may also chat with you about your waste. When waste is sorted and set out correctly, less time and energy is needed to remove incorrectly sorted items from our waste. We also reduce the waste sent to landfill and decrease pollution.

If you see Curbside Waste Education staff in your neighbourhood, please say hello and ask them your waste questions, they’re here to help!

Did You Know?

Only food scraps and yard material belong in the food scraps cart. Everything else is considered contamination. By reducing contamination, we can help keep waste rate increases low and stable.

Items accepted for recycling in Edmonton have to go into a blue bag. Place flattened cardboard boxes under the blue bag. These items will not be recycled when they are put in the food scraps cart.

Resources

Have questions about sorting waste? Try the WasteWise app! Type in the item you have, and it will tell you the best way to dispose of it. Download WasteWise on the App Store or Google Play.

Producing too much waste? Look at Edmonton’s waste reduction resources to help your household reduce its weekly amount of waste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Waste Services look inside of my carts or bags?

Many Canadian cities, including Edmonton, gain significant insight by looking at the waste that is created by residents. We learn a lot about waste behaviour when we look at how waste is set out at homes. Seeing what Edmontonians do with different waste helps us understand how well our waste system works. Doing these checks is a part of Waste Bylaw 18590.

Do Curbside Waste Education staff move items that were incorrectly sorted?

Curbside Waste Education staff cannot sort items that are put in the wrong place. Instead, some waste sorting (also called processing) happens at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. Processing waste safely and efficiently is part of our work in Waste Services. Still, there’s no way for us to duplicate the work of 250,000 households sorting properly.

Is the City going to share or publish any of the data they collect?

All the data we collect will only be used by the City of Edmonton. For example, we may use the data to identify homes to visit, so we can help residents sort or set out their waste better. We will also use this data to plan new waste education programs. But we will not share addresses or any personal information about the data we collect with the public. City of Edmonton staff are authorized to approach set outs and inspect waste as part of Waste Bylaw 18590.

Do staff issue tickets for set out or sorting mistakes?

No, Curbside Waste Education staff do not issue violation tickets or fines. However, they might leave an ‘Oops’ tag on your cart. An ‘Oops’ tag is an educational tool used to help residents sort waste correctly.

City bylaw enforcement responds to bylaw issues such as waste dumping, litter or improper storage. City bylaw enforcement can issue fines. You can learn more about City bylaws here.

Why does it matter if Edmontonians make waste sorting mistakes? Waste sorting is a service Edmontonians pay for, isn’t it?

After waste is collected from Edmonton homes, it is taken to the Edmonton Waste Management Centre (EWMC). Different trucks go to different buildings for sorting. For example, a truck collecting food scraps does not go to a building that can sort out recyclables. We can make better products, like compost, from waste that has been sorted correctly at home. Waste that gets sorted incorrectly at homes has a higher chance of ending up in the landfill.

Telephone	In Edmonton: 311 Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311
Email	wastesupport@edmonton.ca

Telephone

In Edmonton: 311
Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311

wastesupport@edmonton.ca

Curbside Waste Education Program

What to Expect from our Team

Did You Know?

Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

For More Information