Community Environment Days

Pick up for free

• Compost (limit of one cubic metre per household)

Products available

• Kitchen Container ($5 each)

Drop off for recycling or proper disposal

• Electronic Waste
• Household Hazardous Waste

Donate items to local schools for reuse

• Yarn, knitting needles, sewing notions, buttons and keys
• Children’s books, musical instruments
• CD’s, CD cases, 35 mm cameras
• Costume jewellery including broken, old watches
• Arts and crafts supplies: pencils, crayons, markers
• Corks, cork boards, clipboards
• Dress up clothing: costumes, prom dresses, uniforms

Donate items for reuse

Please keep these separate from other items.

• Sporting goods (e.g., skates, hockey equipment, bikes, rackets, etc.)
• Books (excluding school/university curriculum books)
• Eyeglasses, walking aids, hearing aids, etc.
• Small household items (e.g., dishes, ornaments, kitchen utensils, artistic drawings, games, etc.)
• Textiles in good condition (e.g. clothing, linens, etc.)
• Non-perishable foods will be donated to a food bank

Note: You can recycle plastic shopping bag, foam polystyrene, empty paint and aerosol cans in your blue recycling bin.

Please do not bring construction waste, air conditioners, garbage, wood, cassette and videotapes, commercial/ industrial hazardous waste and scrap metal.

Weekend events are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Weekday events are 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

* Schedule subject to change

Resident are invited to pick up free compost at all Community Environment Day events. The compost was created from the yard waste and organic materials collected at the curb, throughout the City of Toronto.

The majority of the finished compost comes from the yard waste program, while five to ten per cent may come from the Green Bin program. Various Ontario processors receive both of these materials and blend them with organic materials of different types and sources, producing optimum conditions for composting. Before leaving the facilities, the compost is tested to ensure quality and provincial requirements for safety.

The compost acts as an excellent soil amendment and is safe to use in gardens and on lawns; however, plants should not be placed in pure compost just as they should not be placed pure fertilizer. One part compost should be mixed with six parts soil.

Compost is the product of a controlled, safe and efficient process. The process uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to convert materials that were once considered waste, into an excellent source of plant nutrients for gardens and lawns. Compost also improves the structure and water holding properties of soil.

For more information, read the What Happens to Organics page.

Torontonians are more actively involved in dealing with current environmental challenges and are bringing more of their “stuff” to Community Environment Day events for re-using, recycling or safe disposal.

Non-Blue box materials include donations for reuse or recycling through community organizations and TDSB schools. Prior to 2009, the total non-Blue box amount listed here also included plastic shopping bags and polystyrene, which have since been included in the Blue Bin program.