Spring cleaning?

With warmer weather on the way, many residents are preparing for their annual spring cleaning, which often results in additional waste. The City of Vaughan is here to provide waste management tips to ensure your items are sorted into the correct bins and to help you reduce garbage waste.

The City has many tools and initiatives to assist residents when sorting their waste, including the online ‘What Goes Where?’ sorting tool, Recycle Coach app, Waste-less Virtual Visits and Double-Up Days.

What Goes Where?

Use the online ‘What Goes Where?’ sorting tool to quickly and easily check where a waste item belongs by using the search bar.

Recycle Coach app

Download the waste reduction app, Recycle Coach, through the Apple App Store or Google Play to check where a waste item belongs. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week.

Waste-less Virtual Visits

City staff offer one-on-one Waste-less Virtual Visit sessions – via FaceTime, WhatsApp and Zoom – to help citizens understand how to properly sort items, reduce trash in landfill and answer any questions related to the City’s waste collection program. To book a free 20-minute appointment, contact Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca.

Double-Up Days

Double-Up Days are coming soon. Scheduled for the weeks of April 5 or April 12, on your regular garbage collection day, you can place up to six items of garbage at the curb for collection – no paid tags required.

Remember, all household hazardous waste (such as paint and chemicals), electronic waste (such as cellphones and laptops) and batteries are not collected curbside and must be taken to the York Region Waste Depot at 130 McCleary Crt. in Vaughan. Additionally, construction and renovation waste are not picked up curbside but can also be taken to the waste depot in Vaughan – fees apply.

Waste reduction tips

Before throwing items in the garbage, follow these tips to reduce your waste:

• Leftover food, diapers, paper tissues, napkins and pet waste should be placed in your green bin. Green bin material is transformed into nutrient-rich compost used to fertilize farmers’ fields.
• Turn your fruit and vegetable scraps into garden fertilizer. The City provides backyard composters for sale at vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughan.
• Repair or repurpose clothing. Use online tutorials to learn how to make basic clothing repairs, such as sewing a hem or button, mending holes or replacing zippers. Check out online resources for creative ideas on how to turn an old shirt into something new or come up with your own ideas to refashion your clothing.
• Donate clothing and textiles you no longer need to local charities, or use the textile bin at the York Region Waste Depot in Vaughan.
• Visit online reuse platforms to sell your unwanted goods. You can also organize a garage sale to sell clothes, household items and other textiles you no longer need. 
• Donate gently used or old electronics that are in good working condition.
• Drop off old electronics to be recycled. Visit recyclemyelectronics.ca to search the nearest retail recycling location in Vaughan by postal code.

These services all reflect the City’s commitment to Environmental Stewardship, a priority outlined in the City’s 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan.

For more information on waste services in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

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