‘Oops’: Edmonton testing new education approach for poorly sorted green bins

A City of Edmonton green bin with an "oops!" sticket on it, pictured on July 8, 2026. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti/CTV News Edmonton)

Dedicated educators are out and about early each summer morning, rooting through compost, for the first phase of a pilot project aiming to keep Edmontonians aware of what does and doesn’t get sorted in a green bin.

That involves placing an ‘oops’ tag on compost bins if something looks out of place.

The city says collectors may skip people who receive a second warning by way of an ‘oops’ tag if they’re still not sorted. One of the biggest culprits is food packaging.

City waste outreach co-ordinator Shawn Gray says a collector once found an entire unopened can of Pringles being composted, for example.

“I would say a majority of residents are doing a great job sorting their waste properly, which we really appreciate. We are still seeing some contamination in the food scrap stream, so garbage and some recycling, particularly,” he said.

“We’re really trying to engage residents to make sure they’re sorting their waste properly. … It can reduce processing costs, and it enables the city to keep utility rates stable and low.”

Waste collection begins at 7 a.m. The city’s educators are typically out rummaging through neighbourhood bins around 6:30 a.m.

“All of our educators are very passionate about their job. They have a fun time talking to residents about something that’s really important to them,” Gray added.

The pilot program this summer will run largely in mature, established neighbourhoods as the collections team figures out a long-term plan.

Waste collection details, including schedules, can be found on the City of Edmonton website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti