Niagara Region | Summer 2025 | niagararegion.ca

Summer 2025 Issue

What can your Green Bin do? Summer edition

Your Green Bin does more than just hold food scraps and other organic waste – it’s a powerful tool in Niagara’s efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and protect our environment.

To keep your Green Bin and Kitchen Catcher clean and fresh this summer, follow these simple tips:

• Line it right: liners are not required but can help keep your bin clean. Use paper liners, newspaper, or Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified compostable bags – never plastic.

• Set it out weekly: even if it isn’t full, set your Green Bin out for collection weekly. This can help reduce odours and deter pests.

• Rinse it out: clean your bin every few weeks with vinegar and water.

• Store in the shade: keeping your Green Bin out of direct sunlight slows decomposition of organic materials and reduces smells.

• Secure the lid: always latch your bin to keep animals out.

• Freeze the smelly stuff: store meat, fish, and dairy scraps in the freezer until collection day to help reduce odours in your bin.

• Add dry layers: alternate wet food waste with dry materials like shredded newspaper, paper towels, or yard trimmings.

Did you know?

For a compostable bag to be officially BPI certified, the logo must be displayed on the package and the product. Only compostable bags that display the BPI logo or compostable logo are accepted in Niagara's Green Bin program.

Your Green Bin can do a lot – especially with your help. Learn more at niagararegion.ca/waste.

Water Wagon kicked off summer season with Niagara Children’s Water Festival

Designed with people and the planet in mind, the Water Wagon can fill up the equivalent of 6,800 single-use 500 mL bottles, keeping event-goers hydrated while cutting down on waste. Visit us at local Niagara festivals, fairs, and community gatherings this summer and fill your bottle with fresh, cold Niagara Region tap water.

The 2025 Water Wagon season kicked off at the 22nd annual Niagara Children’s Water Festival at Brock University. The water festival is a unique opportunity for Grade 4 students from across Niagara to engage in hands-on curriculum-connected activities that educate students about the importance of our most valuable natural resource - water. Thank you to all that visited us!

Accepting applications for the 2026 Season!

Looking to add a splash of sustainability and refreshment to your next big event? Applications are open for the 2026 season. It’s a great way for your event to promote eco-friendly choices while enjoying some fun in the sun. Plus, who doesn’t love free, clean drinking water?

Community events in Niagara that take place between May and October are open to the public with at least400 people attending, can book the services of the Water Wagon. And the best part? It’s FREE!

Thank you for making the spring compost event a success!

In celebration of Compost Awareness Week this past May, Niagara Region hosted its annual spring Compost Donation and Food Drive event. In exchange for non-perishable food items or cash donations, community members were invited to collect up to three 20-litre bags of compost – just in time for gardening season!

During the week of May 5 – 10, your generosity truly made a difference. In exchange for 2,100 bags of compost, residents donated over $2,245 and 520 kilograms of food to six incredible local organizations:

• Fort Erie COPE (Community Outreach Program Erie)
• West Lincoln Community Care
• Salvation Army Thrift Store
• The HOPE Centre
• Goodwill Niagara
• Project Share

Thank you to everyone who participated! Keep an eye out for fall event dates in the next issue of Green Scene – we look forward to seeing you there.

The votes are in on the new Niagara-on-the-Lake roundabout!

As part of the reconstruction of Regional Road 81 (York Road) at Regional Road 100 (Four Mile Creek) into a single-lane roundabout, Niagara Region’s Transportation division held an engagement workshop in October 2024. Residents of St. Davids provided their input and vision for the placemaking spaces of the roundabout and gateway at Tanbark Road.

In May, the Region launched in-person and online voting, where St. David’s residents were asked to vote on overall concepts for the roundabout and gateway such as coloured concrete, benches, waste receptacles, illumination poles and other items that would be influential to the project. More than 7,000 newsletters were sent to residents in the immediate project area, which outlined the items being voted on and the process. The Region was very pleased to have almost 900 people vote! 

The results? Option A: Historical/Traditional Roundabout and Option B: Contemporary/Agricultural Gateway (pictured) were the chosen options. The preferred options and costs will be presented to NOTL council, which is in charge of approving all landscaping and streetscaping upgrades to the roundabout. Construction is anticipated to start, and be completed, in 2027.