Recycling & Waste Sorting Guide

Frequency

Weekly, on your collection day.

Size

85 litres or less.

• 40cm length x 51cm width x 54cm height
• 15.5" length x 20" width x 21" height

Accepted Materials

• Plastic bags (clean, dry and empty)
• Plastic overwrap (clean, dry and empty)
• Metal pots, pans and baking sheets
• Disposable, rigid plastic containers & packaging
• Plastic plates, cups & coffee lids (no cutlery)
• Plastic food & beverage containers
• Plastic bottles
• Plastic plant pots and trays
• Boxed beverage containers (Tetra Paks, milk & juice cartons)
• Empty metal paint cans (dry & lids removed)
• Aluminum foil/trays, metal food and beverage cans
• Glass bottles & jars
• Cardboard cans
• Boxboard – flattened cereal, detergent, & tissue boxes (plastic liners go in garbage)
• Newspapers, flyers, paper, magazines, books, envelopes
• Corrugated cardboard (tie in bundles no larger than 120 cm x 120 cm x 30 cm (4 ft x 4 ft x 1 ft) and place under or beside blue box)

Unacceptable Materials

• Styrofoam (polystyrene foam)
• Coffee cups
• Paper towels
• Shredded paper
• Coffee Pods

Information

• Put recycling out by 7 a.m. and no earlier than 5 p.m. the evening before your collection day.
• Place recyclables in a Blue Box or clear plastic bag only. Recyclables in cardboard boxes, grocery bins, laundry baskets or garbage cans will not be collected.
• There is no limit to how many Blue Boxes or clear plastic bags of recyclable material that can be placed for collection.
• You can mix all recyclable material into the same Blue Box or clear plastic bag.
• Corrugated cardboard is to be tied in bundles no larger than 4 ft x 4 ft x 1 ft (120cm x 120 cm x 30 cm).
• Bundle all plastic bags and plastic overwrap in one plastic bag and tie shut.
• Plastic, glass and metal materials must be empty, rinsed clean and dry.
• Paper material with food residue should be placed in the Green Cart.

Tips

• Do not overfill your Blue Box.
• Maximize space in your Blue Box by partially squeezing cans, bottles and cartons.
• To minimize litter on windy days, bundle and tie newspaper and place on top of your Blue Box or place material in a clear plastic bag for curbside collection.

Public space recycling bins

• Halton Region has public space recycling bins in the community to help you reduce your waste.
• Look for the public space recycling bins to properly dispose of bottles, cans, and other recyclables.
• Together, we can keep our public spaces clean and support a more sustainable Halton!

Frequency

Weekly, on your collection day.

Size

• 40cm length x 46 cm width x 60 cm height (with handle, height is 68cm).
• 15.5" length x 18" width x 24" height (with handle, height is 27cm)

Weight limit of 50 pounds (23 kilograms).

Liners

Do your part to help keep Halton’s compost plastic free. Please use one of the acceptable Green Cart liners listed below:

• Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)-certified bags (see logo on right)
• Paper towels
• Newspaper or flyers
• Cardboard
• Paper bags

Accepted Materials

All food waste

• fruits
• vegetables
• candy
• shells
• meat and bones
• baked goods
• fats
• oils and sauces

Other items

• feathers
• hair
• houseplants
• wooden popsicle sticks
• wooden chopsticks
• sawdust and wood ashes (in paper bags)
• shredded paper

Paper products

• paper rolls
• paper egg cartons
• paper plates and cups
• paper towels and tissues
• paper bags
• paper frozen dinner trays
• coffee filters

Unacceptable Materials

• Plastic food containers
• Plastic bags
• Glass
• Metal
• Styrofoam
• Gum
• Stickers
• Elastics
• Pet waste
• Diapers
• PLA or BPI certified plastic resin food packaging (Plates, Cups, Cutlery)
• Coffee Pods

Information & Tips

• Put Green Cart out by 7 a.m.
• Line your cart with acceptable Green Cart liners, such as paper bags or a Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified bag (PDF file). Do not use plastic shopping bags to line your kitchen catcher or green cart.
• Please bag and tie all organic material, such as used tissues. Loose items will not be collected.
• Remove additional locking mechanisms before collection
• Do not put Kitchen Catchers at the curb, only your Green Cart
• Take food out of plastic packaging before putting in the Green Cart
• Remove stickers and elastic bands from fruits and vegetables
• Rinse your cart regularly with hot water and soap

Frequency

Once every other week. Garbage and bulk waste collection takes place in urban and rural areas (3 garbage bag/cans).

Size

Please ensure that garbage bins/cans:

• Are designed to be manually collected by crews
• Weigh no more than 23 kg (50 lbs)
• Are not larger than 125 L (27 gallons) or 50 cm wide x 100 cm high
• Do not have large wheels or a permanently attached hinged lid

Accepted Materials

• Plastic cutlery, straws, bottle caps
• Snack bags, wrappers and cookie bags
• Diapers
• Gift wrap, ribbons and bows
• Household items such as garden hose, furnace filters
• Broken ceramics (plates, cups, mugs)
• Clothes hangers
• Bubble wrap and sandwich bags
• Plastic liner bags eg. Cereal bags
• Pet waste and cat litter
• Plastic wrap and film
• Styrofoam (polystyrene foam)
• Kids toys

Unacceptable Materials

• Recyclables
• Food waste
• Compostable papers
• Electronics
• Household hazardous waste

Information & Tips

• Place items at curb by 7 a.m. and no earlier than 5 p.m.
• You may place up to 3 garbage bags or cans at the curb every other week on your collection day. Please bag and tie all garbage material. Loose items will not be collected.
• For more than 3 bags, buy garbage tags
• A maximum of 6 bags or cans can be placed out for collection (3 untagged, 3 tagged)
• Overweight bags/cans will not be collected

Frequency

Once every other week with your garbage (up to 3 items).

Size

Over 50 lbs: Does not fit into a closed garbage bag or container

Accepted Materials

• Furniture
  • couches
  • chairs
  • tables
  • mattresses and box springs – must be wrapped in plastic 
• Flooring
  • carpets
  • under padding
  • linoleum, bundled & tied 1.7m x 1m (5ft x 3ft)
• Toilets (remove top/tank from base)
• Wood (dismantled, bundled & tied no larger than 1.7m x 1m or 5ft x 3ft)
  • fencing
  • picnic tables
  • shelving
  • skids
  • doors
• Windows and mirrors no larger than 1.7m x 1m (5 ft x 3 ft) - tape an X pattern across glass to prevent shattering. 
• Please check the online put waste in its place sorting tool for additional accepted materials and special set out instrctions.

Unacceptable Materials

• Hazardous waste
• Metal & appliances
• Recyclable material
• Electronics
• Tires
• Automobile parts
• Building & demolition debris
• Mixed waste piles
• Tree branches or stumps
• Water coolers with refrigeration
• Propane Tanks
• Soil and rocks

Information & Tips

• Place items at curb by 7 a.m.
• 3 item limit (additional items will not be collected)
• Do not pile items
• Remove nails & staples
• Items collected go to landfill. Please consider donating to Reuse Depot instead
• Ensure only items you want collected are at the curb. Items may be mistakenly picked up by the collection truck.
• Do not place bulk items in cardboard boxes

Frequency

First week of April to the second week of December

• Bulk Brush Call-In Collection available in Oakville (call 311 for more info)
• Loose leaf collection available in Burlington (external link) and Oakville (external link) please contact local municipality for more information

Size

Up to 125L (weighs no more than 50lbs)

• Brush must be tied in bundles no larger than 2m x 1m (6ft x 3ft) wide, with branches a maximum of 7.5 cm (3 inches) in diameter

Accepted Materials

• Leaves
• Sticks & twigs
• Tree trimmings (no larger than 6ft x 3ft wide)
• Decorative cornstalks
• Fallen fruit from trees
• Yard & garden trimmings
• Pumpkins

Unacceptable Materials

• Tree stumps
• Sod
• Soil
• Rocks
• Clay
• Plastic bags
• Plastic flower pots & tags
• Giant hogweed
• Grass clippings

Information & Tips

• For urban areas only
• Use only paper yard waste bags or open, labelled, reusable, rigid containers (no lid)
• Yard waste labels must be placed on your reusable container to receive collection
• Unacceptable containers such as a Blue Box, Green Cart, laundry basket, plastic or non-paper compostable bags will not be collected
• Do not put yard waste at the curb more than one day prior to collection
• Leave grass clippings on your lawn to provide up to 25% of the lawn's annual fertilizer needs
• Grass clippings are accepted in yard waste from October to May in Burlington only