MOUNT WILLIAM – Clothing, hockey gear, even a skateboard – these are a few of the "oddities" found in green bins by Pictou County Solid Waste staff, but nothing is as insidious as plastic.
The plastic that comes from so-called biodegradable plastic bags sold at retailers.
The evidence of those bags is highly noticeable in the pre-filtered compost at the landfill site. The large, dark brown mounds are liberally streaked with plastic.
"They say they are compostable and biodegradable. They are not accepted in our carts in Pictou County," said Susan MacDonald, educator for PCSW. "They don't break down properly. If the collectors see them in carts we are told and we'll audit and reject the cart."
MacDonald said PCSW asks stores to remove those bags off the shelves and if they get calls from homeowners who have purchased the bags they are told to take them back to the store.
The paper bags with liners that appear to be plastic are acceptable, because that shiny stuff isn't plastic but biodegradable cellulose.
New products on the market that have caused concern for PCSW staff are disposable diapers and wipes marketed as biodegradable and compostable.
"Even though they say they are compostable we don't want that…We don't want any kind of human waste material in our compost," MacDonald said. She added they will be asking retailers to remove these from shelves too.
The list of things banned from green bins includes some pretty common items as well.
"Disposable coffee cups are very frequently found in there. Other items that are not allowed and people want to seem to put them in there are kitty litter and animal feces. People seem to think they can put ashes in there, even if they're cold," MacDonald added.
Ashes are a no-no for a couple of reasons. One, they could blow back and injure the collector on the truck and two, sometimes hot ashes could melt the cart or even start a fire, which has happened, she noted.
The green bins have been in use since June 1999 and MacDonald said by now ignorance of what's allowed and not allowed can't be used as an excuse. She said what is and isn't accepted hasn't really changed since the program started.
"People know it's expected, they choose to ignore it. We feel that we needed to take some firm action on the people that don't want to do it right…People who refuse to follow the regulations are the ones that we are really focusing on."
If a green bin is noted by the roadside collectors as being used improperly staff are notified at the landfill site and they make contact with the homeowner and deliver educational material. If a second notice is needed, the staff does an audit, and if the cart is still not properly used it is rejected.
The cart is not emptied until it has been properly sorted by the homeowner.
"We say no collection until the problem has been fixed."
When people with rejected carts get their sorting issues straightened out they can call the landfill site to get collection restarted.
The people that do it right, really do it right, MacDonald said.
"People who use them properly are doing an excellent job. We get calls everyday from people asking if it is okay to put a certain item in the cart."
Over the past year, since the PCSW staff has stepped up its efforts, things have made a turn for the better.
"This process during the past year has been successful. We've had to reject very few carts."
Homeowners have been doing a good job for the most part, but landlords are another issue.
"Everyone in Nova Scotia is required to compost food waste and that includes people who live in apartment buildings."
MacDonald said apartment dwellers that don't have access to a green bin should first inform their landlord.
"If they get no satisfaction, they can contact us. Apartments are a real problem for us."
MacDonald said anyone with questions on the proper use of their green bin can contact PCSW at 396-1495 or go to www.pcwastemgmt.com
"We're more than willing to work with people."