What Goes in the Garbage Bin?

Every year, the City of Toronto manages approximately 450,000 tonnes of garbage. This requires money, energy, and resources and takes up limited landfill space. The City’s Long-term Waste Management Strategy highlights the importance of reusing, recycling and most importantly reducing waste as the less waste that is produced, the less there is to manage.

What Happens to Garbage?

Garbage is collected and brought to one of the City’s transfer stations. From there, it is loaded onto bigger tractor-trailers and hauled to the City-owned Green Lane Landfill in Southwold Township, Ontario for safe and environmentally sustainable disposal.

Items Accepted in the Garbage Bin

• Cleaning wipes
• Masks, plastic gloves
• Dryer and disposable mop sheets, baby wipes, make-up pads, cotton tipped swabs, dental floss
• Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, wood chips, pencil shavings
• Hair, pet hair, feathers, nail clippings, dryer lint, candles and wax, cigarette butts and ashes
• Dishes, drinking glasses
• Wooden fruit crates
• Broken mugs, dishes

Important Information About Compostable & Biodegradable Items

The City does not accept the following items marketed or labelled as compostable or biodegradable in its Green Bin organics program:

• containers/packaging
• coffee pods
• coffee cups
• cutlery.

These items, which may be made of or lined with a bio-based plastic, must be disposed of in the garbage. Alternatively, products can be returned to retailers/manufacturers who have take-back programs.