Vancouver Food Scrap Recycling

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About the Vancouver Food Scrap Recycling Program

Metro Vancouver and member municipalities encourage food scraps recycling because it's the right thing to do, it takes waste out of our landfills, it reduces our methane contributions, and it creates compost and bioenergy.

Why are food scraps in garbage a problem?

When food and other organic materials end up in the garbage they:

  • Create methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that adds to global warming. In the landfill, buried under layers of waste and without access to oxygen, food can't decompose properly.
  • Use up a lot of precious landfill space. Space is limited, and creating more landfills is undesirable. Over 30% of what we send to the landfill in our region is compostable organics.
  • Make waste-to-energy processes less efficient because of their high moisture content. About a third of the region's waste is disposed in the waste-to-energy facility.

What can be recycled in the Food Scraps Bin?

Food scraps need to be separated from regular garbage and placed into a green Food Scraps Recycling bin.

What can go in my green bin? What can go in my green bin?
  • Fruit
    Whole fruits, peels and rinds, seeds, citrus
  • Vegetables
    Whole vegetables, greens, seeds
  • Dairy & Eggs
    Milk, cheese, eggshells, baked goods
  • Seafood
    Fish, shellfish, shrimp
  • Meats
    Raw or cooked meat, bones, marrow
  • Tea bags & Coffee Filters
    Disposable tea bags, paper filters, coffee grounds, tea leaves
  • Plants
    Flowers, plants, branches, soil, seeds
  • Soiled Paper & Cardboard
    Used paper towels, pizza boxes, paper plates, wooden chopsticks

Check with your hauler to ensure you are recycling all that you can.

What cannot be recycled in the Food Scraps Bin?

This disposal ban is enforced the same as the region's other disposal bans. Waste is inspected when it is delivered to a regional disposal facility. If a waste load contains excessive amounts of recyclable materials, the hauler pays a surcharge of 50% on the cost of disposal.

What can't go in my green bin? What can't go in my green bin?
  • Foam
    Foam coffee cups, foam containers, styrofoam packaging
  • Cartons & Bottles
    Milk cartons, juice cartons, plastic bottles
  • Oil
    Cooking oil, motor oil, body oils
  • Plastic & Rubber
    Plastic bags, twist-ties, rubber bands, bread clips