Food Waste Collection Pilot Program

The food waste collection pilot program involved nearly 4,000 participating residents located in 15 waste collection routes throughout the city.

In April 2024, one kitchen bucket for collecting food waste items, to empty into the green organics cart, was delivered to the participating residents with detailed instructions and information for the pilot program. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Phase 3 Final Food Waste Pilot Survey! Keep an eye out for the winner of the Visa gift card draw and for the final report on what you had to say about food waste management in Medicine Hat!

Eligibility and guidelines

Pilot program participant eligibility was based on: 

• being a participant in the City’s seasonal yard waste collection program by having a green organics cart at the time of the program implementation, and
• being located within one of the 15 waste collection routes selected for the pilot program.  

The set-out guidelines and collection day for the households participating in the food waste collection pilot program remained the same as with regular yard waste collection simply with the addition of food waste! Plus, the green organics carts in the pilot program routes continued to be collected until the end of December 2024. 

Download the Recycle Coach App or refer to the posted Waste Collection Schedule to find out when your next collection day is. 

Only participants in the pilot program routes were permitted to dispose of food waste in their green organics carts. Residents in the remaining routes in the City were asked to continue to adhere to the original set out standards for yard waste collection, ensuring that only acceptable leaf and yard waste materials were disposed of in the green organics cart.