Green Carts (Compostable Items)

Green carts are for compostable kitchen scraps, yard waste and pet waste/cat litter (loose or in compostable bags). 

Green carts are emptied weekly from May 1 to October 31 and biweekly (on the same day as grey carts) from November 1 to April 30. You can view the Town’s 2024 Waste Collection Calendar for specific pick up dates and the Zone map. Please have your green cart at the curb for waste pick up by 7 a.m. on your designated collection day.

Green cart at curbWhat Goes In Your Green Cart?

For a complete list of what items are ‘Accepted’ and ‘Not Accepted’ in your green cart, please scroll to the bottom of the page and click the list. Paper copies are also available for pick up at the Town Office (200, 5604 50 Street).

Some common items that can be placed in your Green Cart include:

  • Meat and bones
  • Vegetable and fruit waste
  • Baked goods
  • Dairy products and eggs
  • Sauces and spreads
  • Paper coffee filters, grounds and tea bags
  • Cat litter (loose or in certified compostable bags)
  • Yard waste (including leaves, grass clippings, pulled weeds, branches less than three feet in length and one inch in diameter, etc.)
  • Soiled cardboard (pizza box liners, etc.) 
  • Facial tissue

Compostable items put in green carts can be placed in labelled compostable bags or loose in the cart. 

Please do not place plastics of any kind, garbage bags, metal, treated wood, glass or styrofoam your green cart. Please view the Town's list of Acceptable Certified Compost Bags and Where to Buy Them.

Please click on the links below for more information:

Kitchen Scraps/Food Waste

  • Baked goods
  • Bird seed
  • Bones (no animal carcasses with the exception of poultry)
  • Bread
  • Butter
  • Cake
  • Candy
  • Cereal
  • Cheese
  • Coffee grounds
  • Cooking oil, fat grease (small amounts)
  • Corn cobs
  • Dairy products
  • Dough
  • Eggs and eggshells
  • Fish
  • Flour
  • Gravy
  • Herbs
  • Jam, jelly, marmalade and chutney
  • Margarine
  • Mayonnaise
  • Milk
  • Meat
  • Nuts and shells
  • Oatmeal and oats
  • Paste
  • Pastries
  • Peanut butter
  • Peelings (fruit and vegetables)
  • Pie
  • Popcorn
  • Poultry (bones and carcasses)
  • Pumpkins
  • Rice
  • Salad dressing, vinegar, marinades and dips
  • Sauces
  • Shellfish
  • Sour cream
  • Spices
  • Sugar
  • Tea (bags and loose tea leaves)
  • Vegetables (whole, scraps and peelings)
  • Yogurt

Paper, household and food service items

  • Certified compostable food containers and utensils
  • Chopsticks (wood only)
  • Dryer lint
  • Facial tissue
  • Food soiled paper
  • Food soiled newsprint and cardboard
  • Food soiled paper towels, napkins and tissues
  • Paper coffee filters
  • Popsicle sticks (wood only)
  • Toothpicks (wood only)

Yard Waste

  • Branches less than 1 inch in diameter and less than three feet in length
  • Corn stalks and leaves
  • Flowers
  • Garden plant waste
  • Grass clippings
  • Hay plants
  • Hedge trimmings
  • Household plants (including potting soil)
  • Leaves
  • Peat moss
  • Plants (inside and outside)
  • Pine cones
  • Pumpkins
  • Rhubarb stalks and leaves
  • Weeds (excluding noxious weeds)
  • Wood (shavings, chips)

Pet Waste

  • Cat litter (no plastic bags)
  • Feathers
  • Hair (human and animal)
  • Nail clippings (human and animal)
  • Pet food
  • Pet feces (no plastic bags)

Cart and kitchen catcher liners

  • Certified compostable bags
  • Newspaper
  • Paper bags
  • Paper bags with cellulose line

Other items

  • Hair (human and animal)
  • Nail clippings (human and animal)
  • Sawdust
  • Wood (shavings and chips)

Kitchen scraps

  • Coffee pods (no plastic of any kind)
  • Chewing gum

Paper, household and food service items

  • Absorbed pads from meat trays
  • Baby wipes
  • Butcher paper
  • Chemicals or materials soaked in chemicals
  • Cigarettes, cigar butts and/or ashes
  • Corks
  • Clothing (worn out)
  • Botton balls, pads and/or swabs
  • Cutlery (plastic and/or metal)
  • Dental floss
  • Disposable coffee cups (no Styrofoam or paper)
  • Dryer sheets
  • Feminine hygiene products
  • Fireplace ashes
  • Floor sweepings
  • Foam food trays, cups or containers
  • Foam meat trays and liners
  • Furnace filters
  • Hazardous substances
  • Home health care waste
  • Ice cream containers (plastic or paper)
  • Incontinence products
  • Juice boxes or pouches
  • Matches
  • Medicines
  • Microwave popcorn bags
  • Muffin paper cups/parchment paper
  • Paper
  • Parchment paper
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Plastic bags
  • Plastic coffee stir sticks
  • Plastic containers of any kind/type
  • Plastic drinking straws
  • Plastic food wrap, liners and/or bags
  • Plastic mild and/or coffee creamer containers
  • Q-tips
  • Soap
  • Sod
  • Sponges
  • Stickers
  • String
  • Styrofoam (cups, food, meat trays, packing materials or containers)
  • Swiffer sheets
  • Textiles/fabrics
  • Vacuum cleaner bags and/or contents
  • Water softener salt and/or bags
  • Wax paper
  • Wreaths
  • Yarn
  • Yogurt foil seals

Yard waste

  • Barbeque or fire pit ashes
  • Branches greater than 1 inch in diameter
  • Branches greater than three feet in length
  • Branches or tree limbs infected with Black Knot, Fire Blight or Western Gall Rust (please take to the Waste Transfer Station).
  • Diseased or pest-ridden trees or plants (please take to Waste Transfer Station).
  • Elm tree branches (see Dutch Elm Disease information here)
  • Bricks
  • Cinder blocks
  • Concrete
  • Fertilizer
  • Herbicides
  • Paver stones and patio blocks
  • Rocks and/or gravel
  • Sod
  • Treated Wood
  • Tree stumps

Pet waste

  • Animal carcasses (large game animals, pets, etc.)

Cart and kitchen liners

  • Plastic bags (including garbage bags and grocery store plastic bags)

Other items

  • Motor oil and/or oil filters

Green Cart and RecyclingPlace cardboard in the bottom of your cart to help prevent the compost material from sticking to the bottom.

Use cardboard or newspaper between sections of compost to help aerate each layer in the cart.

Wrap wet or smelly bags of compost in newspaper or paper bags to help prevent them from sticking to the walls inside the cart in cold weather.

Gently tap the sides of your green cart to keep the compost material from sticking to the walls inside the cart.

Stir the contents of your green cart with a broom or mop handle whenever possible. 

For more information about the requirements for placing your green cart at the curb on collection day, please visit the Curbside Cart Placement page.

If your curbside compost (green cart) was not picked up on your designated collection day, please contact E360S dispatch at 403-341-9300 or by email at rddispatch@e360s.ca. 

For further information on the curbside waste collection program, please call the Town office at 403-783-4431.

Property owners can request an additional green cart for $7.63 per month by calling the Town of Ponoka Office at 403-783-4431.

To request a repair/replacement for a damaged cart, please call E360S dispatch at 403-341-9300 or by email at rddispatch@e360s.ca.