What goes where?

Your guide to holiday waste disposal

With the holiday season approaching, don’t forget to reduce, reuse and sort your waste right after the celebrations are over! Here’s a guide on how to properly dispose of some festive items.

Wrapping paper, gift bags and ribbons

Cardboard boxes, wrapping paper and gift bags that are 100 per cent paper go in the blue box. Ensure cardboard is broken down, flattened and bundled securely. Large amounts of carboard can be bundled and placed next to your blue box, no larger than 0.6 metres by 0.6 metres by 0.3 metres (2 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot).

Ribbons, rope handles, foil-type paper and cards with glitter are all harmful to the recycling process – place these items in the garbage.

Aluminum trays, black plastic containers and disposable cutlery

Emptied and rinsed aluminum trays can be disposed of in the blue box – be sure to wash away all food residues first. Oils, fats and grease (for example, from bacon or turkey) go in the green bin. Never pour them down the drain. 

While some plastic containers are recyclable, black plastic is not. Toss black plastic in the garbage – this includes black plastic forks, knives, spoons and containers. 

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins go in the green bin. Place your green bin items in compostable bags if possible, but plastic bags are also accepted. Please bag and tie securely and ensure your bins weigh less than 20.5 kilograms (45 pounds) for the safety of our waste collectors.

Food leftovers

If you have holiday leftovers, don’t throw them away – food scraps are not garbage! Instead, try to eliminate food waste by: 

• getting creative with leftovers by transforming them into a new meal for another day.
• planning meals ahead so you only buy what you will eat and avoid food leftovers altogether.
• storing or freezing perishable items such as meat and produce properly so they last longer. 
• placing leftover fruit and vegetable peels in the green bin. Green bin material is transformed into nutrient-rich compost that is used on farmers’ fields to grow our crops.
• turning food scraps into compost to fertilize your garden – you can still compost throughout the winter!

Real Christmas tree collection

During the weeks of Jan. 7 and Jan. 14, the City will collect real Christmas trees in both blue and yellow zones on your scheduled collection day. For example, if you live in the yellow zone and your collection day is Wednesday, you can put your Christmas tree curbside on either Wednesday, Jan. 8 or Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Keep these set-out requirements in mind:

• Remove all tinsel, ornaments and stands from the tree.
• Do not put the tree in a plastic bag. 
• Do not place the tree on the road or on top of snowbanks. 
• Ensure your tree is less than two metres (seven feet) in height. Cut the tree in half if it exceeds this height.

Artificial trees are collected as garbage and must be bagged.

If you have broken glass ornaments, safely place the pieces in a cardboard box, seal shut and label “broken glass,” and place at the curb on your garbage collection day.

Holiday collection schedule changes

There is no waste collection on Wednesday, Dec. 25. Here’s the holiday waste schedule:

• Wednesday, Dec. 25 collection is moved to Thursday, Dec. 26.
• Thursday, Dec. 26 collection is moved to Friday, Dec. 27.
• Friday, Dec. 27 collection is moved to Saturday, Dec. 28.

There is also no waste collection on Wednesday, Jan. 1. Here are the waste schedule changes for that week:

• Wednesday, Jan. 1 collection is moved to Thursday, Jan. 2.
• Thursday, Jan. 2 collection is moved to Friday, Jan. 3.
• Friday, Jan. 3 collection is moved to Saturday, Jan. 4.

Place your waste at the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 7 a.m. on the day of collection.

Think before you toss!

If you don’t know where to dispose of an item, use the search function in the online ‘What Goes Where?’ sorting tool to check. You can also download the free Recycle Coach app from the Apple App Store or Google Play for more sorting help. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week. 

To learn more about waste collection in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

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