Commonly Misunderstood Waste Items

Do you know what items often get misplaced in the Sort’nGo carts? Some commonly misunderstood items are listed below – don’t see something on this list? Ask the Waste Wizard on the FREE Sort’nGo app and find out what goes where!

DO NOTs for Blue Recycling Carts:

• No stretchy/crinkly plastic – soft plastics should be taken to the recycling depot
• No food-soiled cardboard – regular cardboard is acceptable (please break it down first), but food-soiled cardboard should go in the green cart (i.e., greasy pizza boxes)
• No bagging/stacking items — leave items loose in the blue recycling cart (the only item that should be bagged is shredded paper)

DO NOTs for Green Organics Carts:

• No plastic bags — even if labelled compostable, plastics don’t belong in the green cart including plastic Keurig coffee filters, produce stickers, fasteners/bands and plastic bags of food leftovers. Please discard the food remains in the green bin — just not the plastic bag!)
• No meat trays — foam food containers and trays can’t go in the green cart and should be taken to the recycling depot
• No waxed paper/cardboard — do not include cardboard and paper products with a wax coating (for example, ice cream containers). Paper-only products like toilet paper rolls or paper take-out containers are acceptable in green carts
• Personal hygiene/pet waste items – Diapers should be disposed of in the garbage, along with other hygiene items such as baby wipes, makeup wipes, Q-tips, cotton balls, and sanitary napkins. Pet feces is not permitted and should go in the garbage
• No plastic liners — if you wish to line the green cart please use newspaper, or paper bags NOT plastic!
• No invasive weeds – noxious weeds should be bagged and put into the garbage cart as they have seeds that will not break down during the composting process. A reference for residents can be found at www.bcinvasives.ca