Less than 2 percent of properties benefiting from curbside recycling in Ottawa do not comply with new rule of objects with three limitsaccording to city data.

In a memo from Shelley McDonald, director of solid waste services, the first week of the new rules (September 30 to October 4) resulted in 1.81 percent of properties having too many garbage bags at beyond the limit. The city notes that 0.42 percent were labeled by collectors as having oversized bins.

During the first week, all trash was collected even if the rules were not followed, but any properties that did not comply were given a notice.

In the weeks that followed, of the 155,676 properties that benefited from selective collection, more followed the rules.

In week four (October 21-25), less than 0.15 percent of properties had labels exceeding the limit and 0.31 percent were labeled for oversized bins.

“A reminder that if a bin exceeding the 140L limit is used for waste disposal, or if properties set a quantity above the three-item limit during the month of November, solid waste staff will leave a tag “courtesy,” McDonald said in the memo.

Council has instructed staff to continue labeling bins over 140 liters until May 2 to allow people to purchase new bins.

If households are above new three-item limit for trash bags residents can use a yellow bag instead. There is no limit on the number of yellow bags at the curb or the number of purchases.

The city council approved a new Solid Waste Master Plan in June 2024, this will guide how the city sustainably manages solid waste over the next 30 years.

As Ottawa’s population is expected to reach 1.5 million by 2053, the amount of waste is expected to increase by 31 per cent.

Based on the data, the municipality estimates that the Trail Waste Facility landfill will reach capacity between 2034 and 2035, if residents’ disposal habits remain unchanged.