Curbside Collection and Waste Sorting Guide
Curbside collection services in Halton
Halton Region provides residents with convenient curbside collection services to help manage household waste responsibly. These services include:
- Green cart (organics)
- Garbage
- Bulk waste
- Yard waste
Please ensure all garbage and organic material is bagged and tied. Loose items will not be collected.
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Update on residential recycling services
Sorting guide
Refer to the list below or use the Put Waste in its Place tool to find out where items should be placed for curbside collection.
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 instructions.
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
- By appointment only
- Schedule collection before placing material out for pick-up
- Collection may take 2-3 weeks from date of request
- Give a description of the item to be collected
- Remove appliance doors
- Place tall appliances flat on the ground
- Please check the Put Waste in its Place sorting tool to check for special set-out instructions.
- Request a pick up online or call 311
Important information and tips
Pick up or exchange a green cart
If you are a new resident of Halton Region or need a replacement for a broken green cart, please visit the Halton Waste Management Site.
For exchanges: Remember to bring your old green cart. Broken carts are recycled and turned into new containers.
Changes to Blue Box program
As of January 1, 2026, Halton Region is no longer providing blue boxes to residents. The residential Blue Box program across Ontario will be managed by Circular Materials Ontario (external link).
If you require a new blue box, please contact Miller Waste Systems (external link).
- Email: area14@millerwaste.ca
- Phone: 1-855-752-4020