Services for residents
Municipal services
Waste management
Organic waste

Organic waste

During the summer, organics are collected weekly. In winter, collection is every two weeks.

For buildings with 9 or more dwellings, collection takes place every week, year-round.

Collection days vary by sector. Please refer to your calendar.
Consult the collection dates

The bins must be placed at the curb between 7 p.m. the day before and 5:30 a.m. the morning of collection. They must be removed the day after collection.

You must place your bin on your property near the sidewalk. The lid must be tightly closed. No material should protrude out of the bin or be placed beside it. You must leave a clearance of 1 m (3 ft) around the bin.

In order to allow for mechanized collection, only the wheeled bins provided for this purpose are accepted.

Place your bin properly

Place your bin properly

Collectors can pick up waste materials between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. If they still have not come after this time, please leave your bin at the curb and notify the Environment Management division at 450-466-3199 or at environnement@saint-lambert.ca. Thank you for your collaboration!

What is going in the bin?

RAW OR COOKED FOOD LEFTOVERS WITHOUT PACKAGING

  • Food (cooked, raw, fresh or rotten)
  • Fruits and vegetables (nuts, skins and seeds)
  • Coffee and tea (beans, grounds, filters, teabags)
  • Meats, fish and seafood (bones, soft shells)
  • Solid dairy products
  • Eggs and egg shells
  • Nuts and shells
  • Flour and sugar
  • Animal and plant fats
  • Pet food

SOILED PAPER & CARDBOARD

  • Paper towels, tissue papers and table napkins
  • Newspapers
  • Cardboard soiled with food leftovers (pizza boxes, egg cartons, etc.)
  • Paper dishware
  • Paper bags with or without a
  • cellulose film
  • Waxed paper and parchment paper

GREEN WASTE (IN SMALL QUANTITIES)

  • Grass and turf clippings
  • Garden and horticultural residues
  • Liquids (juice, milk, bouillon, etc.)
  • Hard-shelled seafood (clams, oysters, mussels, lobster, crab, etc.)
  • Household cleaners and soaps
  • Paper towels that have been used with a cleaning product
  • Dryer lint and dust
  • Sanitary napkins, diapers and other sanitary products
  • Pet litter
  • Hazardous household waste
  • Pharmaceutical or cosmetic products
  • Dead animals
  • Branches and leaves
  • Ashes
  • Sawdust or wood shavings
  • Earth and sand
  • Conventional plastics labelled compostable, biodegradable or oxo-biodegradable

Dead leaves and branches are not accepted in the brown bin because they no longer contain chlorophyll (pigment responsible for the green color), which fuels biomethanation. You must therefore dispose of your dead leaves during green waste collections.The Ville de Saint-Lambert is offering 12 green waste collections between spring and fall.

To obtain a recycling bin

If you regularly have too much organic waste, it is possible to purchase an additional brown bin. You can contact the Environment Management Division at 450 672-4444 or environment@saint-lambert.ca for details.

Moving? Make sure to leave your recycling bin and your little kitchen bin for the next occupants. Recycling bins are the property of the municipality and belong to a specific address.

Why introduce organic waste collection?

The Ville de Saint-Lambert is proud to begin as of next spring its implementation of organic waste collection in our community. It represents a first step toward achieving the Quebec government goal of banning the burial of organic material by the year 2020.

In fact, far too much residual material still goes to landfills every year in Quebec, constituting a major source of pollution. The recovery of organic matter through biomethanation will help create a source of energy and fertilizers.

By the end of the first year of its organic waste collection service, Saint-Lambert estimates that it will have prevented around 500 tons of organic matter from going to landfills, representing 45% of the current contents of garbage cans.

The importance of proper sorting:

  • Proper sorting and waste reduction at the source limits the amount of garbage sent to landfills and its harmful effects on the environment.
  • Recovering and recycling give a second life to many materials.
  • Approximately 45% of your household waste can go into your brown bin.
  • If you sort properly, there’ll be almost nothing to put in your household garbage container.

Tips and tricks

  • Wrap your food scraps in old newspaper, paper bags or cardboard.
  • Freeze smelly leftovers (meat, fish, etc.) until collection day
  • Sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of your bin.
  • Place your bin in the shade, and put it out for collection every week even if it’s not full.

  • Rinse your bin out with water and detergent, or with vinegar.
  • Line the bottom of your bin with a few sheets of newspaper or cardboard to prevent the organic waste from freezing or sticking to it.

Rub a little cough ointment (such as Vicks®VapoRub™) on the top edges of your bin to keep small animals away.

Questions?

To help you learn more about organic waste collection and find the answers to your questions, the Ville de Saint-Lambert has prepared a series of frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs).

You can also contact Info-environnement at 450-672-4444 or environnement@saint-lambert.ca.

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