Taking out the trash is quickly becoming a thing of the past for residents of some Calgary communities.

Data provided by Ald. Brian Pincott and confirmed by city officials indicates the four areas of the city involved in the green-cart pilot project have already cut down their garbage tonnage by 40 per cent in less than three months time.

The pilot sees 7,500 homes collect organic waste in a kitchen pail and yard bags that is then left out for city crews to haul away for weekly composting. So far, 378,000 kilograms of food and yard waste has avoided city landfills.

“I am pleased and surprised to see how much it is ramping up,” Pincott said. “The green-cart approach is one that people can easily understand and easily embrace, and that’s what we’re seeing.”

The year-long pilot, which began in March, will be used to determine whether the green cart project is a good idea for the entire city. The communities involved now also see their black bins, reserved for non-compost waste, only picked up twice a month as opposed to weekly.

Patricia Cameron, executive director of Green Calgary, only learned of the project’s results to date Wednesday.

“Wow, that’s so awesome . . . there’s a lot of pent-up demand,” she said.

The green-cart pilot is part of the city’s goal to divert 80 per cent of waste from landfills by 2020.