GreenCart material is collected every week on your collection day.  

Acceptable GreenCart Items

GreenCart acceptable items 784KB

GreenCart acceptable materials flyer is also available in: French  731KB,  Spanish  728KB, Polish 777KB, Punjabi  1MB, and Simplified Chinese  981KB.

• Bread, toast, cereal, baked goods & pizza
• Cake, cookies, pie, muffins & candies
• Coffee grounds & filters, teabags
• Dairy products, cheese & yogurt (no containers)
• Eggs & egg shells
• Fruit (no plastic, elastics or stickers)
• Meat, fish & shellfish (including bones)
• Pasta, couscous, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, flour & grains
• Vegetables, corn cobs & husks, nuts & shells & salads (no plastic, elastics or stickers)
• Sauces, mayonnaise, salad dressing, syrups, peanut butter, jams & jellies (no containers)
• Fats & oils, lard, gravy, butter & margarine (no containers)
• Paper cups (no lids), paper plates, paper take-out food containers, paper egg cartons
• Dryer lint
• Human hair & nail clippings
• Houseplants
• Popsicle sticks & toothpicks
• Sawdust & cold wood ashes (in paper bags)
• Shredded paper
• Soiled paper towels & soiled facial tissues.

To determine whether paper products are compostable and can go into the GreenCart -- give them a rip. If the paper product is difficult to rip, or if there is visible plastic or metallic lining, it cannot go in the GreenCart.

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Not Accepted (these items go in the Garbage)

• Plastic bags & containers
• Animal waste & bedding, including litter & droppings
• Cigarette butts & ashes
• Compostable chip bags
• Dead animals
• Diapers
• Dirt, earth, soil, sod & rocks
• Disposable mop sheets
• Dryer sheets
• Feminine hygiene products 
• Floss, make-up sponges, cotton swabs, cotton balls & pads
• Medical waste
• Sanitizing wipes
• String, twine
• Textiles (clothing, shoes, etc.)
• Tree stumps
• Vacuum bags/dust
• Wine corks
• Wood (treated or large pieces)

• PLA or BPI certified plastic resin food packaging, plates, cups, and cutlery:

  • Polylactic Acid (PLA) plastic resin food packaging, plates, cups and cutlery (including those with the BPI certification logo) are not accepted in the GreenCart. They are only accepted in the garbage.
  • The composting facility consistently finds this material does not break down in the standard 21-day composting cycle. As well, these items look like traditional plastic plates, cups and cutlery, which can lead to confusion among residents.
  • If you are purchasing items for special events, Halton Region encourages the purchase of moulded fibre (paper) products, paper cups and paper plates, as these materials are accepted in the GreenCart. Wooden forks are accepted in the GreenCart as well.

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Remember

• No plastic, glass, metal, Styrofoam, stickers or elastics.
• Line your GreenCart or Kitchen Catcher with paper towels, newspaper/flyers, cardboard, paper bags, paper food waste bags, or certified compostable bags with the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) logo.

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