Garbage & recycling — Toronto, Ontario

When is garbage and recycling collected? Are there bag limits or sorting rules?

City of Toronto has 2 adopted bylaws on file, verified against the original documents on 2026-06-10.

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 841, Waste Collection, Commercial Properties adopted bylaw
collection schedule Standard: no more than once per week; up to twice per week for BIAs, night-time routes, Yonge/Bloor-Danforth subway-fronting streets, Lake Shore Blvd west of Humber River, and Kingston Road; organics up to 7 times per week for eligible night-time-collection properties § 841-4A; § 841-4B; § 841-4C
sorting required True § 841-13A; § 841-14; § 841-3I(1)
container or bag limit Curbside: City-authorized bags (City-authorized tag per bag) or 360-litre wheeled cart; RUAC cart program: 75L, 120L, 240L, or 360L carts (owner chooses); front-end: container 0.75–4.6 cubic metres, max 1,500 kg when full § 841-7A(1)–(3); § 841-7A.1(1); § 841-10.1F
accepted or banned Accepted recyclables: glass, metal cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard. Banned: hazardous/pathological waste, construction debris, tires, liquids, PCBs. Schedule A; Schedule C
fee Curbside: owners purchase City-authorized bags/tags at Ch. 441 rates; front-end: charged per cubic yard of garbage collected; RUAC curbside: based on cart quantity and size per Schedule 1, Appendix A, Ch. 441; 1.25% monthly penalty on unpaid amounts § 841-6A; § 841-6B; § 841-6D; § 841-6.1A; § 841-6G
scout note

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 841 governing waste collection for commercial properties.

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 844, Waste Collection, Residential Properties adopted bylaw
collection schedule Residential curbside: garbage no more than once every two weeks; recycling once every two weeks; organics once per week; yard waste once every two weeks March-December. Multi-residential front-end: garbage up to twice weekly; recycling up to weekly. "collect garbage from residential properties who receive residential curbside"; "collect recyclable materials once every two weeks"; "collect organic materials"; "once per week"
sorting required True "Free from contamination"; "regulation containers for garbage, recyclable materials, yard waste and organic materials"
container or bag limit City-provided garbage and recycling bins in chosen sizes (approx. 75, 120, 240, 360 litres); excess garbage requires plastic bags with a garbage tag affixed to each bag. "a garbage tag as described in § 844-32 is affixed to each bag"; "Small - approximately 75 litres capacity"
accepted or banned Recyclable materials in Schedule B; prohibited waste in Schedule C must not be set out for collection. "No owner shall set out prohibited waste for collection by the City"; "recyclable materials listed in Schedule B"
fee Residential curbside collection fees are based on the quantity and size of garbage bins, as set out in Schedule 1 of Appendix A of Chapter 441, Fees and Charges. "the applicable residential curbside collection fees based on the quantity and size of garbage"
scout note

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 844 governing waste collection for residential properties.

Machine-readable: garbage-recycling.json · Official website: https://www.toronto.ca/ · Last verified 2026-06-10 · Garbage & recycling in other municipalities