What not to flush
You may think there are many household substances and items that can be flushed down the toilet. But in fact, the City of Vaughan’s sanitary sewer system is not designed to dispose of anything beyond human waste, toilet paper and wastewater. Flushing any other materials down the drains at home can cause damage or plumbing blockages and increase operation and maintenance costs to clean and repair.
Here are some reminders for what items not to flush and where to dispose of them instead.
Hygiene products
Whether they are feminine products, wipes, tissues or paper towels, none of them can be flushed. Place feminine products, tissues and paper towels in the green bin. All wipes – even ones labelled as “flushable” – go in the garbage.
Household hazardous waste
Household hazardous waste are items that are corrosive, flammable, explosive or poisonous. Examples of this are paint, many cleaning products and chemicals. These substances cannot go down the drain and are not collected curbside. Drop them off at a York Region waste depot for safe disposal. Visit york.ca/WasteDepots for hours of operation and more information.
Fats, oils and grease
If you’re cooking with fats, oils and grease, keep in mind that when cooled, these materials can clog sewer pipes if disposed of down the drain. Fats, oils and grease should never go down the drain. Instead, let them cool and place them in the green bin.
If one of these materials is in liquid form, leave it in the pan to cool, or pour the liquid into a container such as a tin can or bowl to cool, then empty it into the green bin. Before washing pots, pans and dirty dishes, wait for fats, oils and grease to harden. Then, wipe the product with a paper towel or scrape it into the green bin.
Alternatively, you can drop off cooking oil in a tightly sealed container, no more than four litres in size, at a York Region waste depot.
Other materials
For help safely disposing of other materials, use the City’s online ‘What Goes Where?’ sorting tool so you can quickly and easily check where a waste item belongs. You can also download the Recycle Coach app through the Apple App Store or Google Play to check where waste items belong. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week. For more information on waste services, visit vaughan.ca/waste.
For more information on the City’s sewer system, visit vaughan.ca/wastewater.
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