Peel Regional staff launched an apartment organics collection program at 1055 Southdown Road in Mississauga. The building is the first of 20 across the Region to benefit from organics collection as part of a new pilot program.

The Region has a successful curbside collection program for organics but the service to date has only been available to single-family homes. Multi-residential units, which include apartment buildings and condominium developments, comprise about 25 per cent of all homes in Peel.

“The Region of Peel is committed to diverting 75 per cent of waste by 2034,” said Norman Lee, Director, Waste Management for the Region.“ This pilot program is an important first step in expanding organics collection and processing to multi-residential properties to help achieve that goal.”

“Organics” refers to materials that can be processed into a reusable resource. It includes all food waste and used paper products which make up about 40 per cent of household waste. Removing organic materials from the garbage stream reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill by turning it into a reusable resource, such as compost.

Stonebrook Condominium, located at 1055 Southdown Road in Mississauga is the first building to benefit from the program.

“Our residents have been eager to participate in the organics pilot,” said Hugh Arrison, Stonebrook Board President. “It’s a great opportunity to expand upon our recycling efforts and other green initiatives introduced within our building community.”

The pilot will be rolled out at 20 locations throughout the month of November and will continue until December 2017. Peelregion.ca/apartment-pilot