Tips for garbage collection

Here are some tips to help you manage your waste. 

Reduce volume of waste

• Use your blue cart and the recycling stations. Recycling will reduce the volume of material you have in your black cart. 
• Recycle throughout your home. Many people just think of recycling in the kitchen but recycling items throughout your home will help you reduce your waste. Remember to gather recycling materials from the bathroom and laundry room too.
• Consider a backyard composter. Composting your organic waste can significantly reduce what goes in your black cart. You also get great, nutrient-rich compost for your yard.
• Remember the three R's we learned back in grade school? Reduce, reuse and recycle will all help in cutting down the volume of waste in your black cart. 
• Use the City's Yard Waste Sites so  grass, leaves and branches don't fill up your black cart.
  

Reduce smell

• Bag all garbage that goes into your black cart – this reduces odours, prevents litter and keeps your cart clean.
• Double bag particularly smelly items like pet waste and diapers.
• If you can, store garbage outside in a shady part of your property.
• There are many types of odour absorbers/neutralizers. A few options include: sprinkling baking soda in your garbage bin, placing clothes dryer sheets in your bin, using a few drops of essential oils or using various air fresheners.
• For diapers, dump any solids contained in a diaper into the toilet before disposing of it.
• Use a backyard composter to manage your organic waste. Less food in your black cart will help reduce the smell.
  

Additional Black Cart

If you have tried these tips for managing your waste and still find that the bi-weekly garbage collection does not work for your household, you can request a second black cart for an additional monthly fee. Learn more here.