Wednesday 19 September 2012

Coming soon: Bi-weekly garbage pickup

Beginning Oct. 29, city crews will only collect curbside residential garbage every two weeks, while green bin compost garbage collection will continue to be weekly. Part of the onus being the change is to divert waste from landfill and encourage houshold composting and recycling. In 2011 the city diverted about 44 per cent of household waste from landfills through recycling and other waste-diversion programs.

The city has launched Recollect, an on-line tool to help find out what is being collected on the next pick-up date. You can also sign up to receive reminders by email, by phone or through Twitter, download electronic calendar files (iCal, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, download and print a PDF of the calendar or request that a calendar be sent to you by mail.


Saturday 8 September 2012

New Green Roof on the Ottawa Courthouse

I'm sharing some green roof news from downtown Ottawa!  A new green roof has been installed at the Ottawa Courthouse. There are 26 separate green roofs spanning multiple elevations, for a total of 70,000 square feet of green space. The Ottawa Courthouse's green roof supports 60 varieties of plants and protects the building's structure from inclement weather.

It has the potential to reduce energy costs and improve air quality. A conventional roof lasts only 20 to 25 years, while green roofs last at least twice as long. The new green roof will save $23,000 a year in energy costs by reducing summer cooling and winter heat loss by 26 per cent.

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Back to School Green Tips

It's the day after Labour Day, and that means back to school for many children (and parents!) in Ottawa. The Ottawa Citizen had a recent article with some back to school green living tips to consider!