Comprehensive education campaign coming ahead of green bin program launch in Windsor-Essex

The Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority will be rolling out the green bin initiative. CTV Windsor's Chris Campbell has details.

The Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) is preparing to start a new green bin program in fall 2025 with plans to roll out a multi-phase public education campaign in the months leading up to the launch.

Phase one of the new green bin program will start in Windsor, Essex, Lakeshore, LaSalle, and Tecumseh during the week of Oct. 21, 2025, while phase two in Amherstburg, Kingsville, and Leamington will begin in 2027 to better align with their garbage collection contracts.

“The Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority is really excited about 2025,” exclaimed EWSWA Waste Diversion Manager, Cathy Capot-Nepszy, who noted the new program should divert half the waste currently going to landfill. “We’re asking everyone to grow green with us.”

Capot-Nepszy said officials will first introduce a new “green team” to the region on Earth Day in April.

Then in July, free green bins and kitchen catchers will be delivered to roughly 150,000 households.

“It will take almost three months to do,” Capot-Nepszy explained. “So, we ask residents to be patient and work with us on that.”

Amherstburg, Kingsville, and Leamington residents will receive their green bins in fall 2026 before the second phase of the launch begins.

Capot-Nepszy said residents will have to be aware of what day their weekly collection happens on and what goes in their bin, so they get successful collection.

She said residents can expect to learn more details through household mailings, on social media, as well as other traditional media avenues.

“We really ask residents to register on the Recycle Coach app. Download that for free on your phones or follow us on our social media accounts, use our website so that they know when the delivery of their green bin comes to their neighborhood, as well as any changes to the launch,” Capot-Nepszy said.

Capot-Nepszy said the program is meant to ensure that the Windsor-Essex region is complying with Ontario’s Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement, which requires municipalities to achieve specific reduction and recovery target rates by 2025.

The following food scraps are accepted in the green bin:

• Baked goods, candies
• Bread, cereal, pasta, noodles, rice, beans, grains
• Coffee filters and grounds, paper teabags
• Dairy products including milk, yogurt, butter, cheese
• Dry baking ingredients, herbs, spices
• Eggs, eggshells
• Fats, cooking oils, food grease (liquid or solid)
• Fruits and vegetables (cooked or raw, including peels, scraps and pits)
• Meat, giblets and bones, seafood and shells
• Nuts and seeds
• Salad dressing, mayonnaise, gravy, sauces

“We still will have lots to speak through in staying green all year round,” Capot-Nepszy told CTV News. “So, tips to stay green in the winter, which is a little different than in the summer when you’re using this program.”

She continued, “Pet hair, human hair, compostable packaging can go in here as well and then potentially in the winter, you can line your bins with cardboard and newspaper if you need to, to keep items from sticking to the sides.”

According to Capot-Nepszy, it will be up to municipalities to determine how or if compliance is enforced.

She noted Windsor will switch to bi-weekly garbage and recycling collection schedules, with weekly green bin pickups. However, other municipalities still need to determine if they’ll follow suit.

“If we can do anything to preserve our local landfill, which will be one of our really important messages to our residents, then that’s a good thing,” Capot-Nepszy said. “It really isn’t a big change. It’s just a change in your process and your behavior in your kitchen.”