Toronto has created new street litter bins with a “dog poop” compartment, as part of a pilot program to address an increase of dog waste in the city.
The first phase of the pilot includes 10 litter bins where one slot will be converted for dog waste. These compartments are labelled with green stickers that say “dog poop.”
The new bins will be located adjacent to parks and in areas with a high concentration of dogs, including at:
- 1989 Queen St. E.
- 125 Homewood Ave.
- 10 Niagara St. (three bins)
- 45 Dunfield Ave.
- 55 Rosehill Ave.
- 88 Broadway Ave.
- 150 Kilgour Rd.
- Lakeshore Blvd E. & Northern Dancer Blvd.
The first phase of the pilot is expected to last three months. If the first phase is successful, the program will be expanded to 30 bins for an additional three months and then to 100 bins for another six months, city officials said in a press release on Tuesday.
“I encourage residents who see these new bins to use them when they are out with their dogs,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement. “This type of initiative is a great example of how our City is always looking for innovative ways to make it easier for our residents to help keep our streets clean and keep materials out of landfill that don’t need to be there.”
The city said the pilot is in response to an influx of dog waste in litter bins amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A spring 2020 audit identified 45 per cent of waste (by weight) in street litter bins as organic material, and 99 per cent of that organic material as dog waste. The goal of the pilot is to see if dog waste collection in street litter bins is feasible and can help the City divert more organic material from landfill,” the statement read.
Approximately 230,000 dogs are registered in Toronto, according to the city’s website.
In 2018, Toronto implemented a similar dog waste program by installing green bins in parks with dog off-leash areas. To date, the program has diverted 450 tonnes of organic material.
For garbage bins where there is no dog waste compartment, residents are asked to continue throwing dog waste in the garbage or to take it home and put it in their green bin.
