Niagara Region is providing compost for a cash or non-perishable food donation at Regional landfills and at the Region’s Recycling Centre during the week of May 2, 2022 in celebration of International Compost Awareness Week.

While quantities last, any Niagara resident may pick up 20 litre bags (limit of one to three bags) of compost at the Bridge Street Landfill in Fort Erie, the Niagara Road 12 Landfill in West Lincoln, the Humberstone Landfill in Welland, and the Recycling Centre in Niagara Falls. To avoid delays at landfill locations, plan your visit outside of the busiest days (Mondays, Tuesday and Saturdays).

See below for the hours of operation for each of the locations:

• Bridge Street Landfill (1300 Bridge St., Fort Erie) – Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday: Closed
• Niagara Road 12 Landfill (Concessions Rd. 7, West Lincoln) – On Tuesday and Thursday, residents should check in with the scale house. Compost is only available to residents of Grimsby, Pelham, Lincoln and West Lincoln. Monday: Closed, Tuesday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday: Closed
• Humberstone Landfill (700 Humberstone Rd., Welland) – Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday: Closed
• Recycling Centre (5030 Montrose Rd., Niagara Falls) – Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday: Closed​

In exchange for the compost, residents are asked to donate non-perishable food items or cash in support of local charities, including Goodwill Niagara, Salvation Army, Fort Erie COPE, and Project Share.  Food items that are past expiry will not be accepted.

We ask visitors to please consider measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 including:

• ​Maintaining physical distancing by staying two metres (six feet) away from others
• Wearing a mask

Upon arrival, residents will need to:

• ​Place non-perishable food items in the designated box and / or deposit cash donations in cash box. For cash donations, staff can’t offer change.
• Residents are required to load compost into their own vehicle

This International Compost Awareness Week, we thank all those residents who currently use a Green Bin or backyard composter, as using your Green Bin keeps organic material out of our landfills and allows your waste to be turned into useful compost! Did you know the average bag of garbage in Niagara still contains 44 per cent organic material, which could be composted through the Green Bin program?

If you haven’t started using a Green Bin yet, now is a great time to start, and a great time to start backyard composting. Backyard composters and Green Bins are available to purchase online at a price of $41 each.

For more information about Niagara Region’s Waste Management Services, call the Waste Info-Line at 905-356-4141 or 1-800-594-5542, download the Niagara Region Waste app, or visit the waste management webpage.