Toronto Trash Pickup & Garbage Schedule 2026

Toronto’s residential waste system is different from many North American cities. For most single-family homes, the Green Bin is collected every week, while garbage and Blue Bin recycling alternate weeks. Some areas have daytime collection and others have nighttime collection. Yard waste is collected every other week from around mid-March to mid-December, and oversized items are picked up on your garbage day without an appointment.

How to Find Your Toronto Trash Pickup Day (60-Second Lookup)

The City of Toronto has different 2026 schedule PDFs for daytime curbside, nighttime curbside, apartments above businesses, and several route groupings. That means the only reliable way to confirm your exact pickup pattern is the city’s official schedule tool or the printed 2026 schedule linked from the City website.

1. Open Toronto’s official collection schedule page. Go to toronto.ca Waste Collection Schedule.
2. Check whether your home is daytime or nighttime service. Toronto separates these schedules. Daytime customers put bins out before 7 a.m. on collection day. Nighttime customers put bins out after 6 p.m. and before 9 p.m. on the day of collection.
3. Download your exact 2026 PDF schedule if needed. The city provides 2026 curbside collection maps and schedules for different route groups.
4. Install the TOwaste app. Use TOwaste for reminders, schedule viewing, Waste Wizard searches, and depot maps.
5. Re-check even if you already know your day. Toronto notes that in 2026, some districts switched their garbage and recycling weeks even though the collection day itself stayed the same. Do not rely on a 2025 memory.

Toronto Trash Pickup Schedule: What Runs When

For houses with City service, Toronto generally uses a simple three-stream pattern: Green Bin every week, garbage every other week, recycling every other week, and yard waste every other week seasonally. Oversized items are collected on your garbage day.

Toronto also uses daytime and nighttime curbside routes. Daytime routes require set-out before 7 a.m. and no earlier than 8 p.m. the night before. Nighttime routes require set-out after 6 p.m. and before 9 p.m. on the collection day itself.

Toronto Garbage Bin Sizes & 2026 Fees

Toronto is a rate-based garbage system. Households pay according to the size of their Garbage Bin. Those fees also support more than just garbage collection — the City says they help cover organics, yard waste, oversized and metal item pickup, electronics collection, depot services, litter collection, and more.

Toronto also lists a bag-only fee of $203.50 per year for special approved locations, plus garbage tags at $6.81 each. Upsizing a Garbage Bin carries a $29.29 charge, while downsizing is free.

Toronto Blue Bin Recycling: Big 2026 Change Residents Need to Know

The biggest 2026 change is that residential recycling collection is no longer handled by the City of Toronto. Starting January 1, 2026, recycling service and blue bin inquiries moved to Circular Materials under Ontario’s common recycling system.

That means if your Blue Bin is missed, damaged, or missing, you should use the new recycling contact instead of regular City garbage service channels.

Common Blue Bin reminders in Toronto:

• Put recyclables in loose, not bagged
• Keep bins visible and accessible at the curb
• Make sure lids close and there is space around bins for automated collection
• Use Waste Wizard if you are unsure whether an item belongs in Blue Bin, Green Bin, garbage, or a depot

Toronto Green Bin Organics: What Actually Goes In

Toronto’s Green Bin program is broader than many people think. It is not just vegetable peels and coffee grounds. The City accepts many things people in other cities have to throw in the trash.

Toronto specifically says many items labelled “compostable” or “biodegradable” are not accepted in the Green Bin program. That includes some cups, cutlery, containers, and coffee pods. In Toronto, the label on the packaging is not enough — always follow Waste Wizard.

Toronto Yard Waste Collection

Yard waste is collected every other week on garbage collection day from around mid-March to mid-December. Toronto also collects Christmas trees in January on designated days, and yard waste can be taken to Drop-Off Depots year-round.

Accepted as yard waste:

• Leaves, twigs and roots
• Trimmings from trees, hedges and shrubs
• Small branches
• Plant material, brush cuttings and weeds with excess soil removed
• Mulch
• Waste fruit from trees
• Pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks

Not accepted as yard waste:

• Grass clippings
• Sod
• Soil
• Wood thicker than 7.5 cm (3 inches)
• Kitchen waste
• Pet waste

Toronto Oversized & Metal Item Pickup

Toronto makes oversized pickup easier than many cities. You do not need to schedule an appointment, and you do not need to buy a special tag for standard oversized and metal items. The City picks them up beside your garbage bin on your garbage collection day.

Accepted oversized and metal items include:

• Box springs, furniture, lamps, luggage, mattresses, patio furniture, skis and toilets
• Appliances, barbecues without propane tanks, bed frames, bicycles, furnaces, hot water heaters and storage sheds
• Old garbage cans and old Blue Boxes or Green Bins marked clearly “For Garbage Pick Up”
• Carpet and underpad if rolled, cut, tied, under 4 feet long and under 20 kg

Important set-out rules:

• Place oversized items next to the garbage bin
• Leave about 0.5 metres of space between items
• Wrap bed bug–infested furniture or mattresses completely in plastic
• Remove doors from refrigerators, ovens and similar appliances
• Clear snow and ice off items in winter

Toronto 2026 Holiday Trash Pickup Schedule

For daytime and nighttime curbside residential collection, Toronto’s 2026 holiday page is surprisingly simple. Most holidays have no service impact for houses. The big exceptions are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day when Friday collection moves to Saturday.

This no-impact pattern applies to house curbside collection. Drop-Off Depots and some multi-residential routes can have different holiday changes, especially on Mondays, so check the official holiday page before making a depot trip.

What to Do If Toronto Missed Your Trash, Green Bin, Yard Waste, or Oversized Pickup

If your materials were set out correctly and not collected, Toronto allows missed collection reporting. The City also notes that oversized items not collected should be reported within one business day of the scheduled collection day.

1. Make sure your set-out followed the correct time rule. Daytime routes require before 7 a.m. and nighttime routes require after 6 p.m. but before 9 p.m. on collection day.
2. Check spacing and accessibility. Toronto wants bins about 0.5 metres apart and clear for automated collection trucks.
3. Leave the material out if you report a miss. Toronto advises customers who submit a missed-pickup request to keep the material at the curb.
4. Contact the right service line. Use 311 for garbage, organics, yard waste, and oversized items. Use Circular Materials for regular residential recycling inquiries and Blue Bin service issues.
5. Report quickly. Oversized pickup complaints should be reported within one business day.

Toronto Drop-Off Depots

Toronto operates several Drop-Off Depots across the city for waste disposal. Depot rules and accepted items vary by location, and the City warns that hours may change on holidays. A safe motorized vehicle is required, loads must be secured, and a minimum $40 deposit applies for paid disposal loads.

Toronto’s depot network also includes Dufferin, Scarborough and Victoria Park sites. Accepted items vary by depot, but common categories include garbage, yard waste, metal, household hazardous waste, electronic waste, some renovation waste, and tires depending on location.

Toronto Set-Out Rules Most Residents Miss

These are the details that cause a surprising number of missed pickups in Toronto:

• Daytime collection: put bins out before 7 a.m., but no earlier than 8 p.m. the night before
• Nighttime collection: put bins out after 6 p.m. and before 9 p.m. on collection day
• Spacing: keep about 0.5 metres between bins and items
• Winter: do not put bins behind or on snowbanks
• Lids: lids should close properly and bins should be visible and accessible

Toronto vs. GTA Suburbs: Do Not Use This Schedule Outside the City

This guide is for addresses with City of Toronto waste service. If you live in Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa or another GTA municipality, your collection rules are different. Those cities use their own regional or municipal waste systems.

Frequently Asked Questions About Toronto Trash Pickup

Official Toronto Waste Collection Resources

Toronto waste contacts: Call 311 within Toronto or 416-392-2489 from outside city limits for garbage, Green Bin, yard waste, oversized items and general City collection questions. For residential recycling service issues in 2026, contact Circular Materials at 1-888-921-2686.