Residual matters – Reminder: what goes (and doesn’t go) in your green, brown and black bins
June 15, 2023
What goes in your green, brown and black bins?
Here are some of the materials accepted in your green, brown and black bins (click on image to enlarge):
What doesn’t go in your green, brown and black bins?
Here are some other materials refused in the green bin (recycling):
The following materials are refused in the brown bin (organic matter):
- All plastic, biodegradable or compostable bags
- Metal, glass and wax paper
- Textiles (even with organic fibers)
- Vacuum cleaner dust
- Diapers and sanitary products
- Household hazardous waste (oil, paint, batteries)
- Large branches
- Invasive plants
Reminder and explanations from the Complexe environnemental de la Rouge (CER)* regarding certain materials in the brown bin
These materials should never be placed in the brown bin, for the following reasons:
- No invasive plants (Japanese knotweed, Giant hogweed, etc.): seeds may resist the composting process;
- No house dust or dryer lint: non-compostable synthetic fibers are found in dust or lint;
- No glass: glass shatters into very small pieces that damage composting site equipment, downgrade the compost quality of CER and increase the risks involved in using it;
- No compostable or biodegradable (plastic-type) bags: the government permit to operate the composting site does not allow the use of such bags (note that a paper bag is perfectly appropriate);
- No plastic of any kind (bags, film, trays, Styrofoam, etc.): these materials have to be unnecessarily sifted, sent to the landfill and degrade the quality of the CER compost.
(*The Complexe environnemental de la Rouge (CER), located in Rivière-Rouge, is where the contents of all our bins (black, green and brown) are delivered. To follow the CER (Website: https://www.cer.quebec/ and Facebook Page: https://www.cer.quebec/ The contents of the green (recycling) bin are then transferred to the Tricentris recycling center in Lachute. To follow Tricentris (website: https://www.tricentris.com/ and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tricentris)
Non-compliant materials and bins
Here’s a list of materials that have been refused by the Complexe environnemental de la Rouge (CER)* collection trucks in 2022 and 2023. When these materials end up in the wrong bin, your bin will be deemed non-compliant and the collector may refuse to pick it up.
BROWN BIN (organic)(materials refused in the brown bin) |
GREEN BIN (recycling)(materials refused in the green bin) |
BLACK BIN(materials refused in the black bin) |
| Glass | Wood | Wood |
| Plastic bags | Diapers | Food residues |
| Compostable plastic containers | Long objects | Styrofoam |
| Compostable plastic bags | Black garbage bags | Aerosols |
| Diapers | Compostable plastic containers | Paint |
| etc. | Styrofoam | Building materials |
| Batteries | Recyclable materials | |
| Toys | etc. | |
| Clothing | ||
| Aerosols | ||
| Decorations (Xmas lighs, …) | ||
| etc. |
Let’s sort our bins at source, otherwise it contaminates the compost and recycling, and substantially increases the cost of landfill materials and our waste management in general.
In case of doubt, when a material doesn’t seem to go in any of these 3 bins, think of the ecocenter.
Or put them in the Voluntary Deposit bins for Styrofoam and special containers located at the municipal garage, at 60, Morisson Road, Arundel :
