The City of Ottawa is set to step up enforcement of the new three-item trash limit in November.

Ottawa implemented the new three-item limit for all households receiving curbside collection on Sept. 30, with the goal of extending the life of the Trail Road waste facility to 2024.

In October, all trash left at the curb was collected, with staff leaving a “personalized noncompliance tag” on any bins or items over the three-item limit, indicating that the limit had been exceeded.

In November, if the three-item limit is exceeded, an item will be left behind with a courtesy tag explaining the new limit and why the item was left behind. Any litter exceeding the three item limit must be placed in a yellow bag for staff to pick up.

Starting in December, any trash over the three-item limit will be left at the curb.

In the first two weeks of the three-item limit, the city said less than two percent of households exceeded the three-item limit.

For the week of September 30 to October 4, 1.81% of the 151,185 households exceeded the three-item limit, while 1.04% of the 155,676 households exceeded the limit for the week of October 7 to October 11.

“A reminder that if a bin over the 140 liter limit is used to store rubbish, or if properties set an amount over the three item limit of rubbish, solid waste staff will leave a courtesy tag to explain why the waste were not collected,” Shelley McDonald, director of Solid Waste Services, said in a statement.

“Courtesy tags have been used to educate residents about waste disposal allowances in the past and will continue to be used in the future to support residents in adapting to this policy change.”

The City of Ottawa provides examples of the new three-item trash limit, which comes into effect on September 30. (City of Ottawa/release)

Yellow bags

Starting in November, any trash that exceeds the three-item limit must be placed in a yellow bag.

The yellow bags will be sold in packs of four for $17.60. The city plans to release a list of retailers selling yellow bags this week.