Living Green

New rules for disposing of branches and other tree waste in Côte Saint-Luc

The issue
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an insect pest from Asia that attacks and kills all species of ash. It has killed millions of ash trees in southwestern Ontario and parts of the United States since 2002. It has been now been detected on the island of Montreal.

The federal decree
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a decree to prohibit the movement of specific materials including any ash material and firewood of all species from specific areas of Ontario and Quebec.

• Learn the new rules for tree waste disposal and how they will affect you

Feu Vert

The Feu vert program aims to reduce air pollution associated with the use of wood-fuelled appliances. Wood heating is the main cause of winter smog, and an inciting or aggravating factor in lung and heart disease. In Quebec, residential wood heating accounts for nearly half of all fine particle emissions (44,1%). A single noncertified woodstove emits as many fine particles into the atmosphere in nine hours as a mid-size car that travels 18,000 kilometers.

To encourage Montreal Island residents to get rid of their old stoves and fireplaces, the Feu vert program offers a financial incentive to those who remove or replace conventional wood-burning appliances.

For more information about the Feu vert program, visit www.feuvert.org.

Eco-video

Organic origami

Watch the video below to learn how to use newsprint to line your kitchen collector. You can also download the instructions in PDF format.

Keeping your brown bin clean

Warm weather tips

• Rinse the brown bin with your garden hose periodically to keep it clean, especially if you don’t line your bin with paper
• Capture fruit flies (more common during warm weather) with a bowl of vinegar covered with plastic wrap with several small holes in it. Empty as required
• Put salt or vinegar on maggots to kill them. If maggots appear in the brown bin, a fly has laid eggs on some exposed food waste
• Wrap wet food waste (e.g. meat, fish, fruit and vegetable waste) in old newspaper or used paper towel
• Use the special food waste bag or other paper (e.g. grocery, popcorn, sugar, flour or potato) bags to hold your material
• Put meat and fish waste into a paper bag and then in your freezer until collection day
• Alternate layers of food waste with layers of dry waste (e.g. leaves, dead plants, sawdust, wood shavings)
• Periodically rinse the brown bin using a mild detergent or white vinegar/water solution immediately after collection
• Sprinkle a small amount of powdered garden lime, baking soda or powered laundry detergent (no bleach) in the brown bin

Cold weather tips

• Spray your brown bin with cooking oil in the winter to minimize risk of items freezing to the bin and ensure easy removal of waste
• Put newspaper in the bottom of your brown bin to prevent contents from freezing
• Wrap wet food waste (e.g. meat, fish, fruit and vegetable waste) in old newspapers, used paper towels or cereal boxes
• Use popcorn, sugar, flour or potato paper bags to hold your material to prevent waste from freezing to bin
• Large paper bin liners may be purchased for your brown bin at local retailers
• Store your brown bin in an accessible location during the winter months where there is easy access to the curb
• Set out your brown bin the morning of collection day (before 8am) rather than the night before