Your garbage can should be:

• less than 100 litres in volume
• have a secure, easily removable lid
• have fixed (non-swiveling) handles

View the garbageman's choice poster to see a photo of the right can.

Waste will not be collected from oversize garbage cans. Residents who set out oversize garbage containers could face a $60 fine.

Garbage and recycling are collected weekly on the same day of the week year-round, including statutory holidays. The only exceptions are Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Day (January 1). Collectors will be working on Boxing Day (December 26).

To find your weekly collection day, visit the collection schedule page. Garbage and blue bags must be out by 7am.

Please call 311.

Yes. The City offers Assisted Waste Collection.

Consult What Goes Where? to find out if an item should go into your garbage, recycle or be taken to Eco Stations.

Some items that can go into your garbage are:

• regular bagged food waste, packaging, smaller worn-out household items
• bundled or bagged yard and garden waste (tied branches must be under 4ft. long)
• broken dishes and glass (box and label sharps inside a marked, puncture-proof container)
• floor sweepings, sawdust, etc. (inside a bag)

Note: All material must be properly bagged, bundled or put in approved cans. Please keep the weight to less than 20 kg so there's no risk of injury to your collector. 

Help us collect your waste more efficiently - Buddy up your garbage and blue bags with your neighbour!

 

• household hazardous waste (oven cleaners, paints, motor oil, pesticides, toilet cleaners, batteries, propane tanks, light bulbs, solvents, computer equipment, etc.)
• large items (mattresses, box springs, furniture, televisions, stereos, sofas, etc. )
• large appliances (fridges, stoves, freezers, dishwashers, hot water tanks, etc. )
• building/renovation material (wood with nails sticking out, drywall, carpeting, lumber, etc. )
• tree stumps/roots, manure, dirt or sod
• tires and large metal auto parts
• liquids

Take them to a City Eco Station or the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. Eco Stations accept many items for free (e.g., household hazardous waste and electronics).

If you're not sure what can be recycled, thrown away or taken to an Eco Station, download the What Goes Where? poster.

Read our Waste Collection Safety Tips. Your collector will be glad you did!

If you have front street collection:

• place your garbage at the curb
• remember to park your vehicle in your driveway 
• if there's road construction, put your waste where it is accessible

If your collection is in your rear lane:

• place garbage within 3 metres (10 feet) of the rear lane
• ensure the waste cans are easily accessible
• if there is construction in the lane, place your waste at the front curb
  

Please read Needles, Syringes & other Medical Sharps for that information.

Sure. Sometimes stands can make it hard for collectors to do their jobs, but there are good stands that work well for you and your collector.

The City provides waste pickup only where population density allows. If you're not in a collection area, you can arrange for collection on a cost-of-service basis by calling the Waste Management Customer Support Centre at 780-496-5698.

Wasps love your garbage. Here are some tips to help minimize the number of wasps buzzing around your garbage:

• Ensure that garbage bags are tied up and cans have lids.
• Keep waste storage area clean. 
• Bag empty wine crates as wasps are attracted to sugar and alcohol.
• Remove wasps nests from garbage areas as soon as discovered.
• Use wasp traps to distract them from the garbage area.
• Place a fake wasp nest in your garbage area during the spring and summer as they are territorial (during the fall when wasps are more aggressive fake nests do not work).
• During the spring and summer trim back any trees or bushes around your garbage stand.

The City of Edmonton has been collecting and recycling Christmas trees set out for curbside collection and at recycling depots since 1990.

Residents are asked to place their un-bagged tree on its side next to their garbage bags on Friday January 9, 2015. Trees will be picked up for recycling within three weeks, but not necessarily on your regular waste collection day.

For Christmas trees to be acceptable for composting, all ornaments, tinsel, garlands, nails, screws and tree stands must be removed. Extra-large trees should be cut into two-metre (6 foot) lengths.

Apartment and condo residents are asked to take their natural Christmas trees to a community recycling depot or an Eco Station free of charge until Friday January 30, 2015. Christmas trees should not be placed in or beside apartment recycling or waste bins.

Approximately 11,971 trees were collected for recycling in January 2014. The trees are chipped and composted at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.

Garbage and recycling are collected weekly on the same day of the week year-round, including statutory holidays. The only exceptions are Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Day (January 1).

Garbage and blue bags must be out by 7am.