Landlord not necessarily responsible for taking recyclables to the curb
CITIZEN ADVERTISING FEATURES
Source: DICKIE & LYMAN LLP, who practice landlord/tenant law
and other areas of law.
QUESTION:
I live in a six-unit apartment building. There is one blue box and one black box for the entire building. I made arrangements to bring in those boxes to implement recycling at the building. My landlord sometimes puts them out and sometimes not. More often than not, she puts all the waste in green garbage bags and puts it at the curb, which I find frustrating.
Is it not my landlord’s duty to put out the recycling? Is there any way she can be forced to recycle? Is there a city bylaw governing this? Please do not suggest that I manage the recycling; I don’t believe that is my responsibility as a tenant. Any additional other information would be appreciated.
ANSWER:
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 negatively affected by a tenant failing to live up to his or her responsibilities.
Since taking in the communal recycling bins means an extra trip to the property (to bring them in), a small landlord will often ask a specific tenant to bring in the recycling bins, and police the waste situation at the property. It may be that would resolve the issue you raise.
The City has the power under its Solid Waste By-law to levy fines on people who put residual waste into recycling, or viceversa, or who leave garbage or recycling out on the wrong date. If the landlord is deliberately thwarting the recycling, you can report that to the City at 311. But rather than imposing a fine, the City is much more likely to seek to educate tenants and landlords to promote recycling.
As of Oct. 29, 2012, the City of Ottawa implemented changes to garbage collection citywide. There are six types of garbage/ recycling, which are 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, 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 / 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.
If a person isn’t sure where an item goes, the City’s website has a “Waste Explorer app” at http://app06.ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/ search/recycle/q.pl?q=;lang=en;start=770
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 consequential environmental and financial benefits and burdens are shared by all of Ottawa’s residents.
Send questions for rental experts or suggestions for topics to Rental Guide, c/o Advertising Features, Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road, Ottawa, K2C 3M4 or by e-mail to advertisingfeatures@ottawacitizen.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns only. For immediate assistance call the Landlord Tenant Board at 1-888-332-3234.