The EWSWA Green Bin Program

Starting the week of October 21, 2025, the EWSWA will provide a weekly, curbside collection program, the Green Bin Program, to help residents keep food waste and other organics out of our local, Essex-Windsor Regional Landfill. This program in 2025 will start in Essex, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Tecumseh and Windsor (Phase 1). To make sure residents are ready, a Green Bin will be delivered to approximately 120,000 single-family homes from July to October this year. Click on the button below to find when your Green Bin delivery is scheduled. To find out when your collection program begins, check your municipal calendar or download the Recycle Coach app and request Green Bin Program notifications.

By putting food waste in the Green Bin, you can reduce your garbage by up to 50%. Your efforts will help to:

  • Create renewable energy and fertilizer for next year’s crops.
  • Reduce greenhouse gases that are created when organics are unnecessarily landfilled.
  • Extend the life of our local, Essex-Windsor Regional Landfill, which avoids high costs of a new one.
  • Save taxpayers money that is spent on garbage services.
  • Foster a shared sense of environmental responsibility to support this agriculturally-rich region.

Note: Amherstburg, Kingsville, and Leamington will start their Green Bin Program in fall 2026, so they will get their Green Bins delivered in 2026.

Green Bin Delivery Information & Schedule

Frequently Asked Questions Bubble Graphic

For more information:

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Green Bins and Garburators

Garburating your food waste means that it will go to a local water treatment plant for processing. This puts additional strain on a treatment plant and needs more energy to process. Food waste in this water stream also increases nutrient concentration and depletes oxygen in the water as foods decay – both are problematic.

So make the better choice and Green Bin for the Win for all the potential benefits.

Benefits Of Using Your Green Bin

The Green Bin is not finicky and accepts: large pieces of food waste and other organics, hard items (large bones, pits, cobs, etc.), composition of material does not matter (fats, oils, grease are allowable), and accepts food-soiled paper products, that your garburator cannot handle.

Food can get caught and cause expensive repairs to your garburator when not used properly (clogging, overloading, etc.) or maintained.

Using the Green Bin reduces the strain on municipal wastewater treatment systems that is not designed for handling large amounts of food waste.

Green Bin materials are converted into nutrient-rich fertilizer that enriches farmer’s soils for next year’s crops.

Green Bin materials once processed also create renewable energy (thermal and electrical).

The Green Bin captures valuable resources to create new ones and helps Essex-Windsor meet provincial waste diversion targets.

Contact Us

Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority
360 Fairview Avenue West, Suite 211
Essex, ON N8M 3G4
Customer Service Support
1-800-563-3377

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