Food Waste Pilot Program
One of the goals from the 2023 to 2032 Waste Management Strategy is to develop a food waste collection pilot program. By including food waste to the current yard waste collection program, should the pilot program be successful, the City can expand to a city-wide organics collection and composting program.
The pilot program was considered a success, seeing a 30% reduction in food waste disposed of in the garbage, as well as 83% of the pilot participants indicating that they would participate in a city-wide program. The pilot program concluded December 31, 2024.

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.
Congratulations to Tannis Hammond on winning the $250 Visa gift card from the Phase 3 Food Waste Program Survey participant draw! Stay tuned for the final engagement summary report!
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.
Pilot program updates
Learn more about how the pilot program progressed here:
- Phase 1 Engagement Summary Report - this report includes findings from both the participant and city-wide surveys completed in April 2024.
- Phase 2 Engagement Summary Report - this report includes findings from the Phase 2 participant survey completed in September 2024.
- Final Engagement Summary Report - this report includes findings from the Phase 3 survey completed in January 2025 following the conclusion of the pilot at the end of December 2024.
Contact Us
Garbage and Recycling
2190 Brier Park Pl NW
Medicine Hat, AB T1C 1S6
P: 403-529-8176
F: 403-525-8624
Email us
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to eNotifications to stay connected with City of Medicine Hat news, activities, events, programs, operations and more.