![Love where you: live. Put waste in its place. Love where you: live. Put waste in its place.](/images/cov/feature/put-waste-in-its-place-landing.jpg)
![Love where you: live. Put waste in its place. Love where you: live. Put waste in its place.](/images/cov/feature/put-waste-in-its-place-landing.jpg)
Working together towards a litter-free Vancouver.
Since 2021, we've increased service levels by:
- Adding over 200 waste bins in high priority areas such as parks and public plazas
- Increasing the service frequency of public waste bins city-wide
- Replacing small litter cans with larger cart enclosures
- Expanding micro-cleaning services through our Street Cleaning Grant program
- Adding street cleaning staff to support expanded cleaning in high priority areas
As more people spend time outside, the demand to keep our outdoor plazas, parks, and beaches clean has grown.
Learn about:
How you can help
Keeping Vancouver clean is a shared responsibility and we rely on residents to help keep Vancouver’s vibrant and diverse communities litter-free. Small actions can have big impacts. Here are a few things you can do to protect our environment and keep our city looking spectacular:
- Don’t let waste become litter: put waste in its place. Place your waste in the nearest garbage, recycling, or organics bin.
- If you smoke, butt out responsibly by fully extinguishing your cigarette butt and placing it in a garbage bin, ashtray, or pocket ashtray.
- For group gatherings, plan ahead and use the “Pack-In, Pack-Out” method. Bring waste home with you so it can be sorted into the proper stream.
- Show love for your neighbourhood by joining our Adopt-A-Block program or hosting a Neighbourhood Cleanup Party.
Enforcement
We have seven full-time Street Use Inspectors working throughout the city to inspect, educate, and enforce a variety of by-laws associated with street cleanliness issues.
The inspectors ensure both commercial and residential waste and recycling containers are managed appropriately, investigate illegal dumping incidents and, when sufficient evidence is available, pursue fines or prosecution. In 2021, the inspection team investigated over 4,000 by-law infractions.