The Compost Facility
The Compost Facility is an outdoor space located at the Solid Waste Facility where compostable material is delivered and combined with carbon amendments (such as leaves, grass, organic yard waste and wood chips). This mixture of compostable material and carbon are placed into long piles called 'windrows' and regularly maintained to ensure the proper process of decomposing into mature and stable compost.
Curbside Cart Collection
The City of Yellowknife implemented a two-cart waste system with a biweekly collection schedule for single family dwellings in residential areas throughout Yellowknife as part of a Curbside Cart Program.
Utilizing green carts for organics is a fantastic way to limit the amount of compostable material going directly into the landfill, thus extending the life of the landfill and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Compostable organic material in a landfill will breakdown and create methane without the benefit of resulting in mature and stable compost.
What can or cannot go into my Compost Green Cart?
Only materials that can fully undergo the composting process are accepted in the Curbside Cart Program. If the item you are searching for is not included in one of the lists below, please email sustainability@yellowknife.ca with a description of the item for further instructions.
Acceptable materials for compost green carts:
- Food waste
- Such as meat, vegetables, fruit, bones, peels, cores, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells
- Paper towels or facial tissues not containing chemical sprays
- Small amounts of boxboard, cardboard, newspaper and pizza boxes without tape attached
- Small amounts of leaf and organic yard waste
- Such as grass clippings, small twigs, pine and spruce needles
- BPI certified compostable products (look for logo displayed below on actual product)
- Household plants without soil
Materials not accepted in compost green carts:
- Cooking oil/grease
- Biodegradable materials
- General residual waste
- Soil or rolls of Sod
- Any plastic without the BPI certified compostable logo
- Such as green/black/white plastic bags, berry containers, cups etc
- Animal or Honey Bucket waste
- Gable top or Tetra containers
- Such as milk cartons, juice cartons, soup broth containers etc
- Metals
- Electronics
Please note: Only BPI Institute certified compostable plastics will be accepted by the compost facility. Certified compostable materials will have the following logo (pictured below) directly on the plastic. If there is no logo, the item is not certified and belongs in the garbage stream (e.g. #7 PLA plastics).
If you're interested in visiting the compost facility, please contact sustainability@yellowknife.ca.
Collection Schedule