Frequently Asked Questions

My garbage (or recycling) wasn't picked up on my regular collection day - who should I call?

Call 3-1-1 (or 604.873.7000 from outside Vancouver) to report any missed pickups. Please provide your address, a daytime phone number, what time your recycling was set out, and whether it was just your home or the entire block that was missed.

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Will the City pick up my old mattress? What about old appliances?

The City will NOT pick up your old mattress or appliance. Vancouver residents can drop off a maximum of 4 mattresses and boxsprings at the Vancouver Transfer Station at 377 West Kent Avenue North. A $20 per unit piece applies to cover the cost of recycling. Residents may also drop off up to 8 mattresses and box spring at the Vancouver Landfill in Delta, where the same $20 per piece fee applies. For suggestions on where to take used mattresses for donation or recycling, please contact the Recycling Council of British Columbia at 604.RECYCLE (604.732.9253) or visit Metro Vancouver Recycles.

The following appliances may be dropped off free of charge at the Vancouver Landfill or at the Main Recycling Depot (377 West Kent Avenue North): refrigerators, freezers, stoves, dishwashers, washers, dryers and microwaves. The City will accept up to 3 appliances per day per hauler. Please note that customers are responsible for off-loading items brought to the Landfill and the Transfer Station.

Customers wanting to have their old appliance or mattress picked up should consult the yellow pages under "Rubbish Removal" or contact one of the local Charity or Service Organizations. A few of these organizations will pick up used mattresses/boxsprings and appliances provided they are in good condition.

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What do I do if I find a discarded syringe (needle)?

Do not touch the syringe as it may contain infectious disease as well as the possibility of harming yourself when you pick up the needle.

For discarded syringes, call the Vancouver Coastal Health Needle Pick-Up Hotline at 604.657.6561. Leave details about where the needle is located and it should be picked up within 24 hours.

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What if I have more garbage than my cart could fit?

Extra garbage (garbage that doesn't fit into your cart) must be set out in a standard garbage bag with a sticker and placed beside your garbage cart.  Affix a sticker on each extra bag of garbage.

To find out where you can purchase garbage stickers, please click here.

If you constantly find your garbage cart overflowing, you may consider up sizing your cart.  However, please recycle or compost your waste before deciding whether you need a larger cart. For more information, please call 3-1-1 (or 604.873.7000 from outside Vancouver).

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Do I need to pay if I want to change my cart size??

Residents can change the size of their garbage or yard trimmings cart for free once a year. Any subsequent changes within the calendar year would result in a fee of $25 for each garbage and yard trimmings cart.

If you would like to change you cart size, please call 3-1-1 (or 604.873.7000 from outside Vancouver).

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How much do I pay for garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings collection services?

Please go to the Fees section to check on the annual rate for garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings collection services.

In general, a single-family dwelling unit using one 180L garbage cart, one 180L yard trimmings cart, and using the blue box recycling program would be paying about $228 per year for all services in 2012.

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What do I do with pet excrement?

The City of Vancouver Solid Waste By-law prohibits all forms of excrement from being disposed in garbage containers as well as at the Landfill and Transfer Station. The appropriate method of disposal is to flush pet waste down the toilet (not including bags). Alternatively, a non-food waste, special purpose garden composters can be used (Compost Hotline 604.736.2250) or homeowners can bury the waste in non-food gardens.

We recognize that some excrement does get disposed in residential garbage containers and public litter cans, and that is typically manageable. However, the best approach is to flush it down the toilet.

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Why is it necessary to sort out my recyclables into the bags and boxes before I put them out for collection? Why do I have to use the blue and yellow bags?

Sorting your recyclables into three streams of materials (Newsprint, Mixed Paper Products, and Mixed Containers) makes the recyclables easier to sell and more valuable. The money the City receives for the recyclable materials helps to offset the City's collection costs and this means lower fees for you, the customer.

We use easily identifiable containers (blue box, blue bag and yellow bag) so our drivers don't spend time sorting through the materials deciding what items are recyclable and what items are garbage. This makes collection more efficient and helps to keep our costs down. The blue and yellow bags also perform other functions: first, the bags are sized so that material cut to fit inside them (e.g. cardboard) will easily go through the opening at the top of the truck; second, they are designed without square bottoms so that the bags will lay on their sides and help keep the rain out; third, the bags are designed without handles so that their contents will not snag when they are emptied into the truck.

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Where do I dispose of old paint, used motor oil, filters, batteries or other hazardous waste?

DO NOT put paint, solvents, motor oil, pesticides, batteries, or any other hazardous waste in with your garbage or your recycling. These items will NOT be accepted. To find out where you can safely dispose of these materials contact the Recycling Council of BC Hotline at 604.732.9253.

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Why doesn't the City take more types of plastic in their curbside recycling program?

The City accepts rigid plastic types #1, #2, #4 and #5 in our blue box and apartment recycling program because there are large, long-term markets for these plastic types.  This is not an issue of cost, but of finding actual uses for the old plastics (markets that the City is able to access).  There are very limited to nonexistent markets for plastic types #3, #6 and #7.

Part of the reason for some of the low market demand for plastics is that, unlike glass and aluminum, recycled plastic cannot be used at all for food containers.  Plastic cannot be heated high enough (long-chain molecules break easily when heated) to ensure that any biological contamination has been removed.

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Am I limited to setting out one blue box, one yellow bag and one blue bag each week?

There is NO limit on the amount of household** recyclables that may be set out providing that all the recyclables are properly sorted and placed in the proper containers or bags. To improve efficiency, remember to set out your bags and boxes when they are full or nearly full.

** Large amounts of recyclable materials generated from home businesses or home offices will NOT be accepted in our curbside recycling program. Customers must take these materials to the Main Recycling Depot at 377 West Kent Avenue North or arrange for private pick-up.

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What do I do with the my empty ready-to-drink beverage containers? Can they go in my recycling?

The best way to recycle ready-to-drink beverage containers is through the deposit system. Return your empty beverage containers to your local retailer or to the nearest Encorp Return-It Centre for a refund. For more information and a list of depots go to www.encorpinc.com (please note: site will open to new window). Milk and milk substitute containers (e.g. soy beverages) are not included in the deposit system. Remember to leave labels on.

Alternatively, you may want to hold on to your deposit containers and donate them to your local school or community group. Bottle and can drives can help pay for sports equipment, field trips and art programs.

If you can't return your beverage containers for deposit you may place them in with your mixed containers (blue box or "containers" cart) but only if the container is made of glass, metal, or plastic (types 1, 2, 4 or 5 only). Other types of beverage containers like drink boxes and coated gable-top drink cartons are not accepted in the City's recycling program. For more information about the City's recycling program go to: vancouver.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/recycling/howto.htm

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Can I recycle milk cartons?

The City of Vancouver only takes plastic (type #2) milk jugs in our residential recycling collection programs. We do not accept the waxy gable top and box polycoat milk cartons in our recycling programs.

Recently, the milk industry has started a voluntary program to recycle their containers.  Some of the Encorp depots are taking all milk containers back for recycling, but there is no deposit paid on the containers and thus no deposit refunded.  For more information about Encorp’s milk containers return it program, please go to: http://www.encorp.ca/cfm/index.cfm

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How Can I recycle my shredded paper?

You can put shredded paper loose into the yellow bag, but try to keep it down to about a third of the whole contents of the bag.  If you're using the paper products cart at an apartment building, try to keep it to a low percentage of the cart.  The reason for the restriction is that the lift on the collection vehicle goes up over the top to dump into the truck compartment and during windy conditions, the shredded paper tends to blow back out onto the road more than the larger pieces of paper.  Please note that our recycling programs are restricted to residential materials only.

You can also use shredded paper in your backyard composter if you have one.  Please go to backyard composting for more information.

If you have large amount of shredded paper, you can take it to the recycling depot and place it in the paper products bin for free.  The depot does accept loads from small businesses, not just residents.

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Can I recycle styrofoam?

We do not take Styrofoam as part of our recycling programs because it is very difficult and expensive to recycle. You can call the Recycling Council of BC Hotline at 604.732.9253 or visit their web page at rcbc.bc.ca for more information about Styrofoam recycling.

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How can I recycle my old television?

There is now a provincially legislated, industry-run recycling program for some electronics and televisions are included in that program. You can drop-off old televisions for free even when the eco-fee they charge now for new televisions was not paid. Because this program is available, televisions and everything else covered by this program are now banned from going into the garbage. Please visit Encorp Pacific for more information about this program.

Another option is to donate your old television to one of the charities if it is still in working order.  You can find these organizations in the yellow pages under "Secondhand Dealers".  Another good source of information for charity re-use organizations is the Recycling Council of BC Hotline at 604.732.9253 or visit their website at rcbc.bc.ca or e-mail them at hotline@rcbc.bc.ca.

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What should I do with my extra plastic bags?

The City of Vancouver DO NOT take plastic bags in our recycling programs because plastic bags are difficult and expensive to sort out, not to mention they are often found to be contaminated (residual materials inside the bags).

Some grocery and other retailers have already established voluntarily take-back programs for plastic grocery bags. Please call the RCBC hotline at 604.732.9253 for more information.

To reduce the amount of extra plastic bags you have, consider using reusable bags.  Some grocery stores give you discount for each canvas bag you use.

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How can I recycle books?

For soft cover books, they can go into the "mixed paper" bag or "paper products" cart for recycling.  For the yellow bag, you have to be careful not to exceed the 20 kilogram (44 pound) limit as the crews lift these by hand, so you may have to do it over a number of weeks.  You can also drop off the soft cover books in the mixed paper bin at our recycling depot for free.

For hardcover books, remove the paper from the hardcover and binding/glue on the spine by cutting or tearing.  The paper can be recycled as mixed paper (listed above) and the covers and binding/glue will go into the garbage.  This is easy to do for one or two hardcover books but for large numbers, you may want to consider the following options:

• If the books have some value (soft or hard cover), you could look at giving them or selling them to a used book store.
• you could consider donating the books to one of the charities in town.  Please contact the Recycling Council of BC at 604.732.9253 for a list of up-to-date charities that take books. 

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Can I still use clear plastic bags for my leaves in the fall? If not, is there an alternative to plastic bags?

Any yard trimmings, including leaves, set out in any kind of plastic bag (coloured or clear) will not be accepted. From October 1 to January 31 each year residents may set out their extra leaves (any leaves that don't fit into their yard trimmings container) in:

• "Leaf Cans" (standard garbage cans for collection of leaves only) or
• biodegradable kraft paper bags

Kraft yard bags are available at most major home and garden retailers.

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Can I set out extra yard trimmings?

No, all yard trimmings material must fit inside the yard trimmings container.  No extra bags or cans of yard trimmings will be collected EXCEPT during the unlimited leaf collection period from October 1 to January 31 each year.  Please check the fall leaf removal program for more information.

If you find yourself constantly having extra yard trimmings than your cart can handle, consider up sizing your cart.  Also consider backyard composting as a green way to dispose your yard waste. Please visit our yard trimmings page for more information.

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If I am living in an apartment or condo, can I get yard trimmings collection service from the City?

The City does not mandate that condos, townhouse developments, or multi-family buildings to have City yard trimmings collection services because this sector often have other methods of dealing with their green waste. However, buildings can request to have the City's yard trimmings collection service. The supervisor of the collection crews will review whether they are able to service the location with respect to the existing collection routes. Once approved, the supervisor will notify the building about where to set out the yard trimmings cart.

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Where can I get a backyard composter?

The City offers Vancouver residents backyard composters at a subsidized rate of $25 each including taxes. The composters can be purchased and picked up at the Vancouver South Transfer Station at 377 West Kent Avenue North. Proof of residency is required.

For residents living in an apartment, the City offers worm composters at $25 each including taxes. The unit comes complete with the bin, lid, worms, bedding and instructions, and a mandatory 1 hour workshop is required at the Compost Demonstration Garden. Please contact the compost hotline at 604.736.2250 for more information.

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When will Vancouver begin collecting food scraps for composting?

Vancouver recognizes the environmental benefits of food scraps composting and considers diversion of food scraps from landfills to be a waste management priority.

If you currently receive City yard trimmings collection service, you are now able to add uncooked fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, teabags, and eggshells into your yard trimmings cart for composting. Please visit Residential Food Scraps for more information.

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