Toronto's garbage, recycling and green bin, explained: what goes where, how collection works, and what to do with large items

Food scraps, old electronics, a broken sofa and a half-empty tin of paint each follow a different route out of a Toronto house, and the City's rules are specific enough that a small mistake leaves an item at the curb.

This note covers houses with City curbside collection. Details were read on the City of Toronto's official waste pages on 9 October 2026 and may change, so check the linked page before relying on a number. Apartments and condos often have their own arrangements; the property manager is the person to ask.

Finding your collection day

In a house with daytime collection, waste is picked up on one day of the week, set by where you live. The City's Waste Collection Schedule page has a lookup tool for this, and 2026 schedules are also available as PDFs. Houses with nighttime collection use separate 2026 maps and schedules. The City also offers a TOwaste app for phones and tablets.

Green Bin organics are collected every week. Garbage and recycling alternate, so each comes every second week.

Recycling is no longer the City's job

Since 1 January 2026, residential recycling collection is no longer run by the City. Under a provincial regulation, a provider called Circular Materials is responsible for it. The City's pages direct residents to the Circular Materials website, or to 1-888-921-2686, for anything about the blue bin: what is accepted, requests for a bin, and missed recycling pickups.

This note does not list blue bin materials. The accepted list changed at the start of 2026 and is now set by the provider, so use its current list instead of an old fridge magnet.

The Green Bin: more than food

The City says about 40 per cent of what ends up in Toronto's garbage could have gone in the Green Bin. It takes all food waste, whether fresh, frozen, cooked or spoiled, including meat, fish and bones, dairy, eggs and shells, bread, pasta and rice. It also takes:

• coffee grounds, filters and tea bags
• paper napkins, paper towels and tissues (not if soiled with cleaning chemicals)
• food-soiled paper plates, takeout containers and pizza boxes, if not waxed or plastic-coated
• house plants, with the dirt shaken off
• pet waste, including clay and wood-pellet cat litter and cage bedding
• diapers and sanitary products

The surprises come on the other side of the list. Plastic bags, plastic food containers, aluminum foil and trays, foam trays, waxed and parchment paper, stand-up pouches and drink cups do not go in the Green Bin. Hair, pet fur, cotton swabs, dental floss, baby wipes, dryer sheets and cigarette butts belong in the garbage.

Anything labelled compostable or biodegradable, such as containers, coffee pods, cups and cutlery, also goes in the garbage. The City says anything that behaves like plastic is screened out before processing, whatever it is made of.

The City says to line the kitchen container or the Green Bin, not both, with any ordinary plastic bag, twisted or loosely tied with no twist ties. Compostable bags are not necessary. Take food out of its packaging first. For odours, the City suggests washing the container with dish soap and keeping scraps in the fridge or freezer in summer. New, extra and replacement Green Bins for houses are arranged through 311.

Setting bins out

The City gives these set-out rules for houses with daytime collection:

• Put bins and items at the curb before 7 a.m. on collection day, and no earlier than 8 p.m. the night before.
• Leave at least 0.5 metres between bins and items, so automated truck arms can lift them.
• Set the Green Bin out with its latch in the locked position and the arrows on top facing the street.
• In winter, never place bins or items on or behind snowbanks. In a snow storm, hold electronics and oversized items until the next collection date.

How much a garbage bin can hold

Garbage bins have weight limits by size, set by the City:

Garbage that will not fit with the lid closed has to be bagged, tagged and set out beside the bin. The bag must not weigh more than 20 kg (44 pounds), and the tag is attached like a luggage tag. Tags are sold online and at Toronto Canadian Tire stores.

Large items: no booking, but an annual fee

Large items do not need an appointment. On garbage day, the City collects oversized and metal items set out beside the garbage bin, again with 0.5 metres of space between items. Every house pays an annual fee for this whether or not it uses the service, which is why no one has to book a pickup or hire a private hauler.

Accepted items include furniture, mattresses, appliances, barbecues without propane tanks, bicycles and hot water heaters. Conditions apply:

• Remove doors from refrigerators and ovens.
• Dismantle or separate loose or heavy pieces, for example by taking shelves out of a cabinet.
• Roll, cut and tie carpet into bundles no longer than four feet and no heavier than 20 kg.
• For furniture or mattresses with bed bugs, wrap the item completely in plastic first.

Household hazardous waste and construction, demolition and renovation waste (drywall, lumber, doors, cabinets, tiles, shingles) are refused at the curb. Renovation waste goes to a Drop-Off Depot, where fees apply, or to a private company. The City's page also says tires are not accepted at its depots until further notice.

Electronics

The City collects unwanted electronics for free. Televisions, monitors, computers, phones, printers, game consoles and cameras are among the accepted items. Set them out on garbage day, 0.5 metres from the bin, with large items such as monitors on the ground and small ones, such as phones, in a clear plastic bag or open cardboard box. A different truck collects them after the garbage.

Two preparations matter. Wipe personal data first, because the City says it is not responsible for information left on a device. Take the batteries out, since devices with batteries attached are not accepted. Electronics can also go to a Drop-Off Depot or a Community Environment Day. A cord alone does not make an item electronic waste: kettles, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and power tools are not accepted.

Household hazardous waste

Paint, solvents, pesticides, bleach, drain cleaner, motor oil, propane tanks and batteries are household hazardous waste, as are light bulbs of all kinds, including LEDs. None of it goes in the garbage, the Green Bin, the blue bin or down the drain.

There are two free ways to deal with it. The first is the Toxic Taxi, a pickup for residential customers. The load must be between 10 and 50 litres or kilograms, measured by what the containers say. Book through an online service request or 311, and place the items in an open-topped box on private property at the front of the house by 7 a.m. on the pickup day. The second is a Drop-Off Depot or Community Environment Day, with a maximum of 50 litres or kilograms per visit. The City says neither drop-off nor pickup has a fee, except for fluorescent tubes over a certain quantity.

A few packing rules apply: keep liquids in sealed, labelled containers, never mix products, cover the terminals on batteries with tape, and bundle fluorescent tubes in groups of eight. Medications and sharps can also be taken to participating pharmacies; needles must be sealed in a puncture-proof container labelled "needles".

When a pickup is missed

Leave bins and items at the curb until the end of the collection window, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for daytime customers. If the City has not collected by then, a missed collection can be reported, but only within one business day of the scheduled day. The service request asks for an address, and optionally a name, email and phone number. The City says it will look into the reason within 24 hours, Tuesday to Friday.

Before reporting, check that the right bins were set out correctly and that the household has not opted out of City collection. Missed recycling is reported to Circular Materials, not the City.

Drafted with AI assistance.

Sources

1. City of Toronto — Waste Collection Schedule toronto.ca
2. City of Toronto — What Goes in the Green Bin (Organic Waste) toronto.ca
3. City of Toronto — Proper Waste Set Out toronto.ca
4. City of Toronto — Oversized & Metal Items toronto.ca
5. City of Toronto — Household Hazardous Waste toronto.ca
6. City of Toronto — Report Missed Waste Collection toronto.ca

• Toronto
• City guide
• Everyday life
• Waste