Compost bins on sale at a 'down to earth' price

Released: 11:59 a.m.

Winnipeg, MB - The City of Winnipeg’s one-day compost bin sale is Saturday, May 11, 2013. More than 45,000 compost bins have been sold since the first annual one-day sale in 2002.

The Earth Machine compost bins, valued at $100.00 each, will be sold at a reduced price of $30.00 (taxes included). Bins will be available at the following four locations, rain or shine, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (while quantities last):

Garden City Shopping Centre, 2305 McPhillips Street, along Kingsbury Avenue, behind Canadian Tire

Polo Park Shopping Centre, 1485 Portage Avenue, along St. James Street, across from The Bay

Toys R Us, 1560 Regent Avenue W, parking lot adjacent to Regent Avenue

St. Vital Centennial Arena, 580 St. Anne’s Road at Meadowood Drive

Major credit cards, debit cards and cheques will be accepted - cheques should be made payable to Norseman Plastics. All sales are final - no refunds.

Composting experts will be at each of the sale locations to answer questions. For information on composting, call the Green Action Centre Composting Info line at 204-925-3777.

Rain barrels (208 litres), valued $120.00 each, will also be available at a reduced price of $50.00 (taxes included).

Each compost bin can prevent up to 100 kilograms of organics from going to the landfill every year. The decomposition of organic waste in landfills produces a gas which is composed primarily of methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Composting turns kitchen and yard waste into a nutrient-rich soil like material that can be used in a number of environmentally friendly ways, such as a natural fertilizer in flower and vegetable gardens, and as a top dressing for lawns.

The compost bin sale, along with the new seasonal curbside yard waste collection program, gives residents another option to reduce, reuse and recycle, which helps our goal of keeping more garbage from the landfill and protecting our environment by:

reusing valuable organic material, and

significantly reducing harmful leachate and greenhouse gases.

For information on the one-day sale, visit winnipeg.ca or contact 311, open 24 hours every day, by phone at 311 or by email at 311@winnipeg.ca