While Edmonton does not currently have a green bin program (though they are currently running a green bin pilot program – check out the Edmonton Journal article about the program here,), there are other ways to compost without a backyard. One way is to find out if your Community League has a Community Garden. Most Community Gardens throughout the city have composting programs. If you’re unsure, check out this link for a map of Community Gardens in Edmonton, or contact your local Community League to find out.

As a part of the City of Edmonton’s new zero waste policy, a green bin program is expected to roll out city-wide around 2020. The new waste program will require residents to sort recyclables, kitchen organics, yard waste, and general waste into four separate coloured bins. Get ahead of the game by learning to compost now, and you may avoid headaches in the future.

If there isn’t a Community Garden near you, or if you don’t want to transport your organic waste, you can create a Worm Bin. A worm bin is a compost bin you can keep inside your house! The worms help speed up the decomposition process, resulting in fewer odours and no turning over of the bin. This method requires more preparation than backyard composting but is a great alternative for people living in apartments or without access to a backyard. Here is how you do it:

  1. Purchase or build your worm bin. You can purchase a pre-made worm bin or make your own. To make a worm bin, buy a ceramic container of the appropriate size (the size will depend on how much space you have in your apartment and how much organic waste you produce) and cut or drill holes in the top and bottom of the container. Place the bin on a drainage tray to catch any liquids coming out of the bottom.
  2. Prep your bin. Cover the bottom of the bin with strips of paper (either cut newspaper into strips or, if you have a shredder, you can use shredded paper–bonus points since shredded paper cannot be recycled!). Next, pour a small amount of potting soil or peat moss onto the paper scraps, then add your worms. Worms can be purchased from your local bait shop, or at some specialty gardening stores. You need roughly one pound of worms per square foot of container space.
  3. Place the worm bin indoors (the worms prefer room temperature), preferably somewhere it will receive some sunlight.

You’re all set to add your kitchen organics. Since you want to maintain a healthy carbon and nitrogen balance (see above), you will want to add kitchen waste and paper at a roughly even ratio throughout the process. It may also help to have two worm bins, which you can cycle so that you have compost for house plants (or a windowsill herb garden) in one bin while the worms go to work on the other bin. You can add most of the same wastes to your worm bin as you would to an outdoor compost bin, except for citrus peals; worms do not like citrus, so continue to throw these in the trash.