Collection Issues

Facts on waste collection and disposal during the COVID-19 pandemic

Top 7 tips to ensure your items are collected

1. Set out your items by 7 a.m. on your collection day. Collection crews start at 7 a.m. and their routes change without notice. 
2. Set out your items as close to the street as possible, in a safe and accessible spot at the end of your driveway. Items placed behind or on top of snowbanks, or on opposite side of sidewalks cannot be collected.
3. Ensure your items are visible. Please do not place items behind parked cars, light posts, or snowbanks. 
4. Properly sort and prepare your items. Check Waste Whiz (at the top of this page) to find out how to prepare specific items for collection. Use this sorting guide. Do not set out hazardous items. 
5. Use approved collection containers. 

1. Stay within the weight limit of 23 kilograms (50 pounds) for each blue box, green bin, garbage bag or can, and yard waste item.
2. Stay within the set out limits for garbage and bulky items. If you have garbage bags/cans over the limit, use garbage tags.

Sorting matters for curbside collection! How to recycle more and waste less

Since packaging, products, and programs are always changing, sometimes it's difficult to know what to do, and how to dispose of certain items.

We are here to help! Below are tips to help you set up, sort out, and set out your waste successfully.

Why is this important? It reduces the amount of garbage you create (and helps you stay within the garbage limit), conserves resources and has other local and global benefits, and extends the life of our one-and-only landfill.

1. Set up for success. Place containers in key rooms of your home (such as the kitchen, bathroom, and garage) to help your household separate blue box items, organics, and garbage. Consider having colour-coded containers (such as blue, green, black) that are labelled. Reuse cardboard boxes or plastic containers you have on hand. Before collection day, empty these containers into the containers accepted for curbside collection. Also, consider having a safe spot to store household hazardous waste (including spent batteries).
   • For blue box recycling, have two containers. One for metal, glass and plastic bottles and jars (that contained a food, beverage, or cleaning product) and milk/juice cartons, and the other for paper, cardboard and plastic bags. Note we have stickers available for blue boxes.
2. Learn the basics and talk with your household. Our "sorting" flyer could be a good place to start. Consider posting it near your containers as a reference. Check out the other brochures and flyers on our Publications page, and our web pages for details on each of our curbside programs (blue box, bulky item, garbage, green bin, yard waste, Christmas trees). Once you understand the basics, talk to members of your household.
3. If in doubt, check it out! Do you have an item and you're not sure how to dispose of it? Check the Waste Whiz search box (above on this page). Type in the item and find out how to prepare it for a curbside or drop-off program. And remember that our Call Centre staff are available 24 hours a day, every day. If you have questions or concerns about the Region's programs, contact them at 519-575-4400.
4. Keep it simple.

• Purchase items with packaging that is accepted in our recycling program.
• Get 'appy!  Download our free Waste Whiz app (or use the online version) have the Waste Whiz search box at your finger tips. Also, take advantage of the other helpful features, such as scheduling reminders to help you set out the right items on the correct day.

Troubleshooting guide to "Oops!" stickers and common collection issues

When an item has been set out on time and not collected, the collection crew will leave a sticker to indicate why it wasn't collected.

Below is a troubleshooting guide that shows each type of sticker, how to deal with items that were not collected, and how to prevent getting a sticker.

Oops! Not allowed:  An item may not be allowed due to health and safety issues, by-law requirements, or it may not be something that we collect curbside. Some examples include:

• Loose, unbagged garbage
• Loose, unbagged green bin organics
• Bagged recyclable containers (cans, cartons, bottles and jars) in a blue box
• Styrofoam in a blue box
• Regular plastic bags in a green bin
• Electronic waste (not collected at the curb - use local drop-off programs)
• Broken glass, and syringes which are not safe to collect
• Incorrect type of collection container

Check the Waste Whiz for details on how to properly prepare and dispose of your item.

Oops! Not bundled properly:  Items that need to be bundled, such as cardboard, wood or branches, need to be sized and tied correctly for collection crews to pick up safely and to fit into their trucks.

Check the Waste Whiz for details and properly prepare the bundles for your next collection day.

Oops! Too heavy:  Each blue box, green bin, garbage bag/can, bundle, and yard waste item must be no heavier than 23 kilograms (50 pounds). If your item exceeds the weight limit, split up the material into separate containers/bundles and set out on your next collection day.

Oops! Too many:  There are limits on the number of garbage cans/bags you can set out for collection. Please:

• Check the limits for garbage and bulky items.
• Use a garbage tag for each garbage bag/can you set out that is above the limit.
• Remove the items from the curb that were not collected, and set out on your next scheduled collection day within the limits. Option: Bring extra items to a Regional waste management site. Fees will apply.

Oops! Contents were frozen: Items could not be collected because they were frozen to the container at the time of collection. This sometimes happens with blue box items and green bin organics.

Ways to ensure your items are easy to empty out:

• Bag/bundle paper and boxboard before you put it in your blue box
• Make sure your blue box is clean and dry before you place materials in it
• Drain liquids before placing organics in the green bin
• Use liner bags (and loosen the liner bag when you set the green bin to the curb)
• Layer paper organics with food scraps in your green bin
• Placing a paper egg carton or balled up newsprint on the bottom of your green bin.

Oops! Wrong week:  Garbage, bulky and large items, and seasonal yard waste are not collected every week. Bring in your item(s) from the curb and put them back out on your next scheduled collection day.

Please note also that Christmas trees have a specific collection period. Check the Holiday/Christmas trees schedule.

Winter tips:  How to set out items for collection in cold and snowy conditions

Collection crews cannot collect items that are not safe to access, are not visible and are frozen inside of containers. Use these tips to help keep pedestrians, vehicles and our collection crews safe, and collection efficient in cold, snowy conditions:

Make sure items are easily accessible.

• Place the items either at the end of your driveway or shovel a ledge in the snowbank near the end of your driveway. Please make sure the ledge or "shelf" is on the road-side, not the sidewalk-side.
• Do not place items on top of snowbanks.
• Clear any snow and ice that may accumulate.

Ensure containers are visible. 

• If you use garbage bags, use black or green garbage bags. Do not set out garbage in white garbage bags.
• Do not set items behind snowbanks, parked cars, shrubs or lamp posts.
• Brush off snow that may accumulate on your items.
• Set your items on the right-hand side of your driveway (looking from your house towards the street). This makes it easier for the collectors to see your items when they are driving down the street. 

Ensure your organics are easy to empty out of your green bin:

• Drain liquids before placing organics in the bin
• Use a liner bag and loosen it from the sides when you set your green bin out for collection
• Layer paper organics with food scraps
• Place a paper egg carton or balled up newsprint on the bottom of your green bin

Place items out the day of collection by 7 a.m., rather than the night before.

Consider not setting out your waste during major snow events.

Please note that collection crews do their best to empty your containers, but sometimes contents are frozen when they arrive. By the time you retrieve your containers, contents may be thawed/loose. Please set these out on your next collection.

Thanks for helping to make collection safe and efficient.

TIP! Remove your empty containers promptly so they don't get buried with snow, blow around or get damaged. Make sure your address is written on your containers, too!

How to set out items in windy or stormy conditions and prevent litter

• Don't set items to the curb the night before collection if a storm or high winds are expected. Place your items at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day of collection if the weather is better. If it is still windy/stormy, consider waiting and set out your items next week.

• Save lightweight items for your next collection day.

• Prepare your blue box materials so that they do not blow away:

  • Crush containers so they fit better in the blue box, and aren't as easily lifted by wind. (Do not bag containers - keep them loose in your blue box.)

  • Stuff all plastic bags in one bag and tie the handles of the outer bag.

  • Put paper in a plastic grocery bag and tie the handles of the bag.

  • Flatten, size, and bundle all boxes, such as corrugated cardboard.

  • Stack your blue boxes. Place your Paper Products and Plastic Bags blue box on top of your Containers Only blue box.   

• Write your address on your blue boxes, green bin, and garbage can in permanent marker. This makes it easier for them to be returned.

Thanks for preventing litter in our community!

Top 5 tips to prevent summertime pests

1. Empty and rinse all food and beverage containers before placing them in your blue box. 
2. Bury food scraps with paper waste (such as shredded paper and facial tissues), and keep the lid closed at all times. (Check out this flyer for more tips for preventing and controlling pests in your green bin.)
3. Clean your blue boxes, green bins, and garbage cans often. Freshen them up with

• a natural deodorizer such as baking soda 
• citronella, an essential oil, (smear the oil on the outside rim of your container to deter flies)
• a spray made out of half white vinegar and half water to deal with fruit flies

4.  Set all items on the curb for collection by 7 a.m. on your collection day. Do not set them out the night before.

5.  Replace broken or cracked blue boxes, green bins and garbage cans. 

Collection in a construction zone

When streets are under construction, waste collection vehicles cannot safely or directly access the items you set out. Managers of the construction project will be responsible to coordinate with Region of Waterloo Waste Management staff to assure collection, and should communicate with you about waste collection details. In most cases, construction crews will move all the waste to certain location(s) on adjoining streets which are accessible to our collection crews.

To help, please

• Write your address on each of your blue boxes and green bins, using permanent marker. This helps your containers to be returned to you.
• Use garbage bags instead of garbage cans. 
• Ensure all of your items are prepared correctly.
  • Do not overfill blue boxes.
  • Keep within the limits for garbage and bulky items.
  • Keep within the weight limit (23 kilograms, 50 pounds) for each container, garbage bag, and bundle.
  • Ensure each container can support its contents. For example, please ensure paper yard waste bags do not tear when lifted.
• Set out items on schedule, such as the every-second-week collection schedule for garbage/bulky items, and seasonal yard waste.
• Follow the set-out times required by the construction project manager. It may be earlier than 7 a.m.
• Keep informed. The Region and local municipalities provide information about construction projects.

Tips for moving day

Due to COVID-19, Regional waste offices are closed until further notice, and collection and drop-off programs have changed. Please refer to the information at the top of this page for details.

Whether you are moving into or out of Waterloo Region, below is information to help prevent collection issues.