Introducing Kitchen Catchers
Food scraps make up to 40% of our household waste and are banned from the garbage. Food scraps and yard waste that are added to the green bin are recycled into valuable compost material. To help make it easier for you to recycle your food scraps, we’re sending all eligible residents kitchen catcher bins this fall. Your kitchen catcher will help you by providing an odour and mess-free way to store food scraps in the kitchen before being emptied into the green bin for collection day.
Kitchen catcher bins are coming to all Burnaby residents who receive weekly collection of food scraps and yard waste from the City, including houses, duplexes, apartments, condos and townhomes.
How to fold a kitchen catcher liner
Fold a liner for your kitchen catcher using newspaper. For a handy guide on the folding technique, watch our video tutorial:
Follow these guidelines for a hassle-free experience:
Kitchen catcher tips
- Rinse your kitchen catcher periodically with dish soap and water to keep it clean between uses.
- To keep your bin clean and minimize odour, larger or moist food scraps can be frozen in your freezer before placing them into the green bin on collection day.
- Food scraps wrapped in newspaper or paper bags are accepted in the green bin.
- Garbage and plastic items (including compostable/biodegradable plastic bags and containers) are not accepted. Read more about why compostable and biodegradable plastics don’t belong in the green bin.
Green bin tips
- Yard trimmings also go in the green bin—loosely packed or in a paper bag.
- Don't overfill the green bin—the lid must be closed to be collected.
- Keep your green bin clean by rinsing it weekly with mild soap or a vinegar/water mix—pour soapy water onto the grass or gravel, not down outdoor drains.
- Keep your bin in a shaded area—out of direct sunlight–and always keep the lid fully closed.
If you have extra yard trimmings (not food scraps), you can drop them off for free (up to 100 kg) at the Eco-Centre (4855 Still Creek Dr). If your load exceeds 100 kg, the City will charge the entire load at the full tipping rate. Don’t forget to bring proof of residency with you.
- fruits and vegetables
- meat and bones
- eggs and dairy products
- coffee grounds and tea bags
- fish and seafood
- plate scrapings
- salad and dressings
- sawdust (bagged in paper bags)
- pumpkins
- bread, pasta and grains
- soiled pizza boxes and paper napkins
- small amounts of cooking oil absorbed in paper
- grass clippings and weeds
- small branches (up to 4 inches diameter)
- plants and flowers
- wooden cutlery (like chopsticks, or popsicle sticks)
- clean wood waste (no plywood or glue laminates)
- recyclable containers
- liquids of any kind
- diapers and hygiene products
- tissues
- plastic bags
- compostable or biodegradable plastic bags
- plastic foam packaging (Styrofoam)
- plastic or biodegradable compostable cutlery
- large volumes of cooking oil
- tree stumps / branches larger than 4 inches diameter
- animal waste or carcasses
- vacuum or dryer lint
- dirt, rocks, soil, sod
Questions and answers
About the kitchen catcher program
Kitchen catchers will be delivered to eligible addresses in September or October 2022. Eligible addresses are those that receive weekly collection services from the City of Burnaby. Houses, duplexes, rowhouses and townhouses will receive their kitchen catchers at their door. Apartments and condos will receive a bulk delivery from the City, and have their kitchen catchers distributed by the building’s management.
Deliveries to homes which receive curbside pickup of their recycling will proceed in the order of Burnaby’s recycling pickup zones.
View the Kitchen Catcher Delivery map.
- Zone 1 (Northwest Burnaby): early to mid-September
- Zone 2 (Northeast Burnaby): mid to late September
- Zone 3 (Southwest Burnaby): late September to early October
- Zone 4 (Southeast Burnaby): early to mid-October
During our deliveries, our team will place kitchen catchers on your doorstep for you to collect and bring inside. If you’re not available during the period when deliveries are scheduled for your area (see map and approximate schedule), your kitchen catcher will be waiting on your doorstep when you return. You may want to make arrangements with a neighbour or friend to bring yours inside if you will be away for an extended period.
Condos and apartments that that receive the weekly collection services from the City of Burnaby will be getting kitchen catchers. Buildings that receive private collection services are not be eligible. The City of Burnaby’s Solid Waste & Recycling staff will be contacting the caretaker or site contact to arrange drop off of the kitchen catchers.
Deliveries to condos and apartments will generally follow the 4-zone map below, but please note that since the management of each building will arrange to receive delivery on a day which is convenient, some buildings may receive their shipment of kitchen catchers earlier or later than nearby addresses.
View the Kitchen Catcher Delivery map.
- Zone 1 (Northwest Burnaby): early to mid-September
- Zone 2 (Northeast Burnaby): mid to late September
- Zone 3 (Southwest Burnaby): late September to early October
- Zone 4 (Southeast Burnaby): early to mid-October
If you’d like to report a missed delivery, you can contact our team at 604-294-7972.
1 kitchen catcher will be delivered to each address. If you would like additional kitchen catcher-type containers for another kitchen you use, similar containers are available at hardware stores and other shops.
Burnaby residences with registered secondary suites will have 2 kitchen catchers delivered to the primary address. Residents of secondary suites are encouraged to coordinate with the occupant of the primary unit to receive their kitchen catcher. Please note that both deliveries may not occur on the same day—if the second kitchen catcher has not arrived a week after the first delivery, get in touch with our team at 604-294-7972.
Replacement kitchen catchers will be available at the Eco-Centre beginning in January 2023. Residents should bring their broken kitchen catcher and proof of Burnaby residency (ie. an ID with a Burnaby address, or a bill with your name and address) to exchange for a new one.
About kitchen catchers
Kitchen catchers are countertop containers which can be placed in your kitchen or under your sink to help you separate food scraps and transport the waste to the larger green bin. The City is sending all residents who receive garbage and recycling pickup from the City kitchen catchers in fall 2022.
Wrapping your food scraps in paper will reduce odour and moisture in your kitchen catcher. Watch the video tutorial on this page to see how to fold your own paper liner from newspaper. The kitchen catcher lid can also be removed to assist with regular washing.
About food scraps
Food scraps can be easily composted into a useful product such as soil, fertilizer or a soil amendment. However, if food scraps are added to the garbage, they are buried in a landfill creating harmful greenhouse gas emissions and using up landfill space which is already limited across the region.
Yes. Food scraps are banned from the garbage in the entire region (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond and all of Metro Vancouver). Burnaby residents are required to separate food scraps into the green bin.
Plastic bags labelled “compostable” or “biodegradable” tend not to break down properly during composting, and may contaminate the finished compost as a result. Only paper liners, including the Bag to Earth bag which has a cellulose liner, are permitted in the green bin program.
About the green bin
Yes, small amounts of cooking oil and grease from fried foods can go in the green bin as long as paper towels or newspapers have absorbed it. Drop-off larger volumes of cooking oil and grease at the Eco-Centre.
No problem. The City will collect green waste on your scheduled collection day even if it’s not full.
Yes. Please fill out the receptacle request form and email it to [email protected]. You’ll be charged a $50 exchange service fee.
Yes. Home composting is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to dispose of food scraps. If you have a home composter, please continue to use it. If you’d like to buy one, you can pick one up for $30 at the Eco-Centre.
You can hire private companies to wash your green bins. Call the Recycling Council of BC Hotline 604-732-9253 for more information.
Have questions?
Solid Waste and Recycling Division