Garbage Removal City of Toronto

City staff advise against contracting out east-end garbage

Garbage Removal City of Toronto

Garbage Removal / July 18, 2023

Things that would never fit in your garbage bin, even when empty, are considered oversized (previously called "bulky"). They can be left next to your garbage bin for free regular pick-up, without requiring tags or special arrangements. Put oversized items 0.5 metres (2 feet) away from your garbage bin on your scheduled garbage day.

Note: The collection calendar indicates bicycles are oversized items to be left at the curb with regular garbage, bicycles are considered oversized items.

Oversized Items: sofas, chairs, wooden furniture, beds, mattress, appliances, fridge, freezers, ovens, etc.

Annual fee effective 2017: $8.00 (per residential home / per multi-residential unit) will appear on the Utility Bill regardless of whether an oversized item is placed out for collection or not. Approximate implementation date to appear on Utility Bill will be March 1, 2017 retroactive to January 1, 2017. The amount will be spread over the year, billed at pro-rated amounts based on the length of a given billing period.

Single residential/building with less than 8 units/townhouse complex with individual curbside collection:

Curbside collection every 2 weeks

Items must be at the curb by 7:00 a.m.

Oversized collection is handled by separate collection crews that drive through each area on regular scheduled garbage collection days. The oversized item collection crews work independently from the garbage bin collection crews.

Criteria:

Anything 8 feet or longer (or wide) that can be cut in half for garbage should be reduced in size. Solid Waste Management regular split trucks will have no difficulty in loading these items. In some cases, as with SWM automated trucks, a separate truck will have to be dispatched to pick up oversized items. Note: Solid Waste Management operators must be able to safely move these items on to the lift, and into the truck

Large Screen TV's - They are too heavy for a single operator and a health and safety issue because of the tube. Large screen TV's are considered garbage, but must be handled by a different truck and 2-person operation and a lift

Garage Doors - are considered construction/renovation waste and must be taken to a depot. (fees will apply)

Furniture does not have to be cut in half. Wood furniture or desks should be left intact as one item. These are soft handled and taken to a Reuse Centre*

Shelving should be cut down if it is longer than 8 feet

Toilets must have the tank separated from the bowl (one piece toilets can be placed out as is). Toilet seat to be removed and placed in garbage bin.

Mirror - for the safety of the collection crew, this item should be wrapped in thick paper or cardboard. Alternatively, the mirror can be broken into smaller pieces, placed in a sealed cardboard box with the writing 'broken glass' on side/top, the box must fit inside the garbage bin.

Dressers - do not need to be cut in half

Carpeting, underpad and linoleum - items must be tied in rolls measuring no longer than 1.2 metres (4 ft.), and weigh less than 20 kg ( 44 lbs.)

Bed frames - break down, remove any nails, bundle and/or tie where possible

Sofabed - is considered an oversized item and is a soft handled collection, it will be collected as one piece and taken to a Reuse Centre. For safety reasons they should be tied to avoid springing open. It is no longer necessary to dismantle and book the metal separately*

Futon Mattresses - should be rolled and tied

Bathtubs: Only metal bathtubs are accepted as an oversized item. Fibreglass bathtubs are considered renovation waste, and are not accepted curbside. Fibreglass tubs must be taken to a City transfer station and disposed of as waste (fees will apply)

Furnaces and hot water heaters. (However, if the item is too large or in excess weight, the item may not be picked up curbside. It is recommended that your contractor dispose of the item on your behalf)

Fridge- freezers - ovens - dishwashers - remove doors - lids

Metal Hydro standpipe - will not be picked up curbside and will need to be brought directly to the transfer stations.

Note: Solid Waste Management does not require that all furniture/mattresses be wrapped in plastic to be collected, but if collections staff see visible living bed bugs on furniture or mattresses, they will leave a notice asking that the item be sealed in plastic.

Note: Solid Waste Management has different trucks. If the regular operation has the split truck then many times the oversized items do not fit and the driver/loader must radio for another truck to handle it.

Open Packer - about 8' wide and big enough to load a couch in or a large cabinet

Split Packer - about a 3' opening for organics and another 5' is garbage packer

Side Load - trucks that garbage can fit into

Full automated trucks - cannot pick up any bulky furniture if it's not in the garbage bin

Open lift truck - which is for soft handling furniture, mattresses, metal, bulky items for Reuse Centres

Oversized items - Durable Goods
All items are taken to the City's re-use centres, where staff locate markets for these items.* The 'Reuse Centres' mandate is to reclaim recyclable materials from the waste stream. All durable goods brought to the Reuse Centre are recycled and sent to processors. Furniture is not accepted at the re-use centre and salvaged items are not for resale. No durable goods are available to the public.

Residents can donate usable Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) materials to the Paint Reuse Depot, including oil and latex paint. Typically, half-full cans of oil and latex paint are set aside for residents to pick up - for free! Sometimes automotive products or cleaners that are in unopened containers are also available. Paint Reuse Depots are located at:

Bermondsey

Disco

Ingram

Scarborough

For more information please visit the City of Toronto website

To report a missed oversized item collection see: Residential collection - oversized item - furniture - metal items - appliances - e-waste - missed collection