Green Bin Collection

Food

• All food scraps, including produce, grains, dairy, and meat
   
• Prepared food (leftovers)
• Shells (egg shells, seafood shells) and bones
• Small amounts of fat, oil, and grease

​Food-soiled paper

A lot of heavily food-soiled paper-products are compostable, but not recyclable with clean papers. Put these items in the green bin. Examples include:

• Paper napkins
• Food-soiled newsprint (often used to line a kitchen catcher)
• Paper towel
• Coffee grounds and filters, paper tea bags
   

​Other items

• Wooden chopsticks, skewers, popsicle sticks
• Houseplants (without soil)
• Hair or nail clippings
• ​Pet food

Download printable PDF poster

Many types of food containers and packaging are made of more than one material, which can be the most confusing.

​Find out what to do with confusing items

The City has developed a guide to help residents in placing bins for collection. The guide will also be delivered when the binsare distributed.

No, there is no weight limit. Contents can be compacted down to hold more contents in the bins. Ensure lids are completely closed so that bins can be collected. 

No, you cannot put yard waste in your paper bag. Yard waste must be placed in your green organics bin(s).

1. Compact Your Green Waste
   The new green waste bins have no weight limit because they’re emptied by automated trucks. Press down on your green waste, organics, and yard clippings to remove air pockets and maximize space.
2. Use Green Waste as Natural Fertilizer
   Consider composting some of your green waste at home. It’s a great way to enrich your soil and reduce the amount going into your bin.
3. Upgrade Your Organic Bin
   After one month, consider upgrading to a larger 360L bin if you consistently have more green waste than your current bin can handle. To do this, contact Emterra Environmental at 604.635.0999 or email col@emterra.ca.
4. Request an additional Organic bin for:

   Bin Size	Additional Cost
   120L	$65
   240L	$80
   360L	$85

It is recommended to use the new bins for at least one month before exchanging your default 240L bin. This new default bin size is three times the typical size of an 80L bin. Allow time to see if the new bins meet your needs before considering changing to a bigger or smaller-sized bin(s).

There is no cost for the first exchange of your bins. If you need to exchange the bins a second time, there will be a fee to make further changes.

To make an exchange, please contact Emterra Environmental at 604.635.0999 or email col@emterra.ca.

*To ensure we are meeting the community's needs, the City of Langley will be waiving the $10 service cost to exchange the 240L bins for a 360L or 120L bin. 

*This FAQ was updated on August 18, 2025.

No, there is no deadline to exchange your bins for a different size. However, it is recommended that you wait at least one month before requesting an exchange, as there will be no cost for the first exchange of your garbage and organics bins.

If you need to exchange the bins a second time, there will be a fee to make further changes.

With a black permanent marker, write your address in the white square below the Langley City logo on the side of your bin.