Every year the average Montrealer produces and throws out almost 290 kilograms of waste.
Most of it ends up in landfill sites, even though a lot of that waste could be composted.
That's why the city of Pointe Claire is scaling back its garbage pickup to once every two weeks, and focusing on composting instead.
"Now we are going to be setting a new program into motion in April where we will be collecting compostable materials from all our homes in Pointe Claire. By doing so we will be able to reduce garbage collection to once every two weeks," said Mayor Morris Trudeau.
Six years of a pilot project have helped Pointe Claire residents generate less garbage than almost any other community in Montreal, but half of that trash is organic waste which takes up precious space in landfills.
The biweekly pickups and new compost bins are designed to discourage that, but taxpayers will still have to pay.
"It won't mean reducing taxes because we're picking up the same amount," said Trudeau. "We're picking up recyclables, we're picking up compostable materials and we're picking up regular garbage."
While some residents welcome the change,others feel the new plan is rubbish.
"If you have a large family it's going to be impossible to keep up with that," said one woman.
"I think it would be gross," said another.
"I live in an apartment so like I could imagine in the summer, like the garbage is overflowing after a week so I think it would be kinda gross to have it every two weeks."
Like it or not, other municipalities will have to do the same in order to reach a goal to reduce organic waste by 60 percent by 2015.
"We're very late. We're behind the schedule for the moment," said Coralie Deny of the Montreal Regional Environment Council.
Part of the problem is infrastructure. Changing mindsets is another.
"The problem of odour is form organic waste, not from paper or plastics," said Deny.
Which is why Pointe Claire will continue weekly pickup of organic waste for all when the new program begins on April 7, 2015.
Other trash will be picked up every two weeks starting May 13, 2015 for some parts of Pointe Claire, and the following week for the entire city.