Green Can 

• all food scraps, food-soiled paper (napkins, newspaper, and used paper towels) and wooden chopsticks and popsicle sticks
• small amounts of yard trimmings

Visit metrovancouver.org/foodscraps to learn more.

Yard Trimmings

• grass clippings, leaves, weeds, brush and branches
• plants and flowers, living or dead/dried
• plant, tree or hedge prunings less than three inches in diameter and no more than three feet long (tied with compostable twine)
• Christmas trees cut to fit into container (no tinsel, decorations or stands)
• Halloween pumpkins, broken into pieces

What stays out

• plastic bags, even those labelled biodegradable or compostable, are not allowed
• pet waste or animal droppings
• rocks, dirt, or sod
• plastic, glass, cans or paper
• parchment paper
• garbage
• prunings larger than 7.5 centimetres in diameter or longer than one metre
• painted or treated wood
• garden hoses, flower pots or other non-organic materials
• giant hogweed and knotweed cuttings. For more information about proper disposal of giant hogweed, knotweed and other invasive plants species, please visit Invasive Plants

• six yard trimmings cans, bins or bundles, including Green Can(s), per pickup 
• maximum weight per can, bag or bundle is 20 kilograms 
• maximum bundle size is one metre long and 30 centimetres in diameter, maximum branch thickness is 7.5 centimetres

• Green Can: Place food scraps and food-soiled paper in a 46-litre container (e.g. Orbis NPL 280A) clearly labelled as a Green Can.
• Yard Trimmings: Place grass clippings, leaves, small trimmings, plants and flowers in a lidded 77-litre can with a Yard Trimmings decal. Kraft Paper bags with folded tops are also accepted.
  • Bundle twigs and branches with bio-degradable string or twine. No wire, nylon or plastic strapping allowed. Place bundles beside, not inside, cans.
• All materials must be set out between 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on the day of collection.

Irresponsibly managed waste is the cause of 80 per cent of interactions between humans and bears on the North Shore and could be prevented. 
Collection rules, such as set-out times, are included in our bylaw to deter animals and reduce wildlife attractants—please follow them.

To avoid attracting animals:

• store all materials inside the house, shed or secure enclosure until the morning of collection
• wash your containers with a mild soap or vinegar and water solution to reduce odours
• freeze plate scrapings and food scraps until collection day
• wrap your food scraps in newspaper or paper bags to minimize odour and mess

Learn more about bears on the North Shore

Backyard composting is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recycle food scraps and yard trimmings. If you’re composting at home, thank you and please carry on! You are diverting waste from the landfill and getting a rich fertilizer for your garden.

Common backyard weeds and invasive plants should not be added to your backyard compost but can be added to your curbside Yard Trimmings collection, except for giant hogweed and knotweed which require special attention and care.

For a full list of invasive species and how to manage them, please visit:

Invasive Plants

Need a backyard composter?

Backyard composters are available to all Metro Vancouver residents through the City Farmer backyard composter distribution program. Bins are $35 (cash only) and can be picked up from the compost demonstration garden in Vancouver. Call 604-736-2250 to reserve a composter and schedule a pick-up time.

More information

Here's the dirt on backyard composting