Landlord and tenants should work together on recycling and garbage issues

A: Tenants are responsible to separate their recyclables from their residual garbage. Landlords are required to ensure that there is reasonable means for tenants to dispose of their residual garbage and recyclables. That doesn’t mean that the landlord is necessarily responsible for taking your recyclables to the curb. It may well be your responsibility to put out the recyclables and other waste you generate, and the responsibility of your fellow tenants to put out theirs.

Landlords are supposed to act as a backstop so that if any tenants do not act as they are supposed to, the landlord will try to fix the situation so that the property complies with the city’s rules, and the other tenants are not affected by a tenant failing to live up to his or her responsibilities.

A small landlord will often ask a specific tenant to put out and bring in the recycling bins, and police the waste situation at the property. That could resolve the issue you raise.

Under its Solid Waste bylaw, the city has the power to levy fines on people who put residual waste into recycling, or vice-versa, or who leave garbage out on the wrong date. If the landlord is deliberately thwarting the recycling by putting it in garbage bags, then you can reportthattothecityat311.But rather than imposing a fine, the city is much more likely to seek to educate tenants and landlords to promote recycling.

There are six types of garbage/ recycling, collected as noted:

Blue box recycling for many types of glass, plastic and some metals (including aluminum cans) — every second week;

Black box recycling for newspapers, flyers, magazines and many other types of paper and boxes — the other week;

Green bin/organic recycling for food scraps, soiled paper, pizza boxes, yard waste and many other organic items — every week;

Hazardous, electronic waste including batteries, aerosol containers, fluorescent bulbs, televisions, phones and many other items — by special arrangement, usually at a waste depot or electronics store;

Regular garbage and residual waste, which is almost anything else, including many types of food wraps and packaging — every second week with the blue bin; and

Large or bulky items such as appliances or furniture — the same time as residual waste.

To find out their collection day, tenants, landlords or other residents can check at www.Ottawa. ca. Select “Residents,” then “Garbage and Recycling ” and then “Collection Calendar.”

Proper use of the green bin and blue and black boxes is everyone’s responsibility, and the environmental and financial benefits and burdens are shared by all of Ottawa’s residents.