Food is not garbage

recycle-your-food-scraps

A man recycles food scraps. He puts them in a bin.
Photo by Ian Smith/The Vancouver Sun

Food is not garbage
Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nila Gopaul
Level 1

Metro Vancouver* wants you
to recycle your food scraps.
Starting in January 2015,
food scraps must go into a green bin.

Then the city collects the scraps.
The scraps make compost soil.
Farms and gardens use this soil.

A man shows compost soil. Photo by AGRICULTURA REGENERATIVA/cC, Flickr

A man shows compost soil.
Photo by AGRICULTURA REGENERATIVA/ CC, Flickr

Facts:

  • *Metro Vancouver has 23 members,
    for example, Richmond, Surrey,
    and Tsawwassen** First Nation.
  • Metro Vancouver population: 2.4 million (2,400,000)
  • 40% of garbage is food waste.
    ** say:  TSA-wah-sen
Metro Vancouver Photo by TastyCakes/CC, Wikipedia

Metro Vancouver
Photo by TastyCakes/CC, Wikipedia

Courtesy of the City of Vancouver

Courtesy of the City of Vancouver

What goes in the green bin?

Acceptable compost food scraps Illustration by Nola Johnston

Put these items in the green bin.

Do not put these items in the food scraps bin. Illustration by Nola Johnston

Do not put these items in the green bin.

Three easy steps 

Line your kitchen container with newspaper or a paper bag.

Line your kitchen container with newspaper or a paper bag.

step 2

Wrap food scraps and put them in your kitchen container.

step 3

Empty food scraps from the kitchen container into the green bin.

Illustrations by Nola Johnston