Cart placement

Proper cart and bag placement helps make sure your waste, recycling, and organics are collected safely and on time. Carts should be placed out by 7 a.m. on your collection day, even if your pickup usually happens later in the day (collection times can vary due to weather, routing, or operational needs).

Street and alley placement guidelines 

• Leave at least one metre (3 feet) of clearance around your cart and any excess waste bags and make sure there are at least three metres (10 feet) of overhead space so the collection truck can access the cart safely.
• Excess waste tags must be present on all excess bagged waste and be placed at least 0.5 m away from other carts. No excess organics is accepted. 
• The cart must be on the street or alley. Do not place the cart on the sidewalk or on a driveway.
• The front of carts must face the street or alley (arrows on the cart indicate the front and wheels are the back of the cart).
• Carts will not be collected if they are overfilled, cart lids need to close.
• Carts need to be a manageable weight for collection; as a general rule, if you can easily roll your cart, it’s likely within an acceptable weight for pickup.
• Carts need be stored in your garage, by your house or in a shed and not on the street when it is not your collection day.

Cul-de-sac guidelines

• Please place your carts or excess tagged garbage bags two meters off the curb of the street. This allows for the truck to have better access for collection.
• In some neighbourhoods, neighbours have gotten together and placed all their carts in a row together (ensuring there is one meter in between carts) in front of one agreed on house.
• We are continuously growing and learning about cart and garbage bag placement and collection issues in cul-de-sacs from other municipalities who are also addressing these challenges.