Bylaws related to garbage and waste

We have several bylaws concerning garbage and trash, and we've simplified the key points based on common questions from Calgarians:

1. Cart Usage
   • Single-family households get green, blue, and black carts with a 60kg capacity.
   • If your black cart is full, use tags for extra garbage bags (up to 20kg) for pickup.
2. Yard Waste
   • Extra yard waste goes in paper bags, rolled closed, and placed 0.5m away from your cart.
3. Collection Day
   • Set carts out by 7 a.m. on collection day but not before 7 p.m. the day before.
   • Remove carts by 7 p.m. on collection day.
4. Sharp Objects
   • Package sharp objects in a puncture-resistant container with a tight-fitting lid for the black cart.
5. Container Guidelines
   • Use proper garbage containers with handles and lids (max. 100 litres) or standard plastic bags.
   • Do not let garbage accumulate on your property.
6. Property Maintenance
   • Owners/occupants must maintain their property in a tidy condition.
7. Access to Collection Site
   • Collector's access to the garbage collection site should not be blocked.
8. Landfill Transport
   • All material sent to the landfill must be covered or secured during transit.
9. Burning Prohibition
   • Burning of garbage is not allowed.
10. Special Items Handling
    • Medical waste and needles must be properly packaged in black carts.
    • Animal waste and sawdust go in green carts, properly bagged.
    • Dusty materials (e.g., street sweeping, vacuum dust) must be double-bagged in the black cart.
11. Prohibited Items:
    • Hazardous waste, biochemical waste, dead animals, tires, automobile parts, furniture, and liquids should not be set out for residential garbage collection.
12. Commercial Waste:
    • Commercial waste must be placed in a commercial bin for collection.

Remember, all material transported to the landfill must be covered or secured during transit.

Fines for violations of these regulations range between $125 and $1,000.

Animal waste is any kind of waste that comes from animals or from the treatment of animals. Exceptions to this include animal bodies or carcasses, and body parts of animals.

Biomedical waste includes:

• human waste, including parts of the human body and tissue;
• infectious human waste;
• infectious animal waste.

Microbiological waste including cell cultures and specimens of microorganisms. This also includes laboratory material that has come into contact with these.

• Blood and body fluid waste;
• Medical sharps such as needles, syringes, scalpels, razor blades and precision knives. This also includes contaminated broken glass and laboratory materials capable of causing punctures or cuts.

General medical waste is any kind of non-hazardous medical waste. It includes soiled dressings (such as band-aids and gauze), sponges, surgery drapes, casts, catheters, disposable gloves and specimen containers. Lab coats, aprons, towels and disposable sheets are also a part in this category.

Hazardous waste is any kind of waste that has dangerous properties to it. You can find out more about what these properties are in the Environment Protection and Enhancement Act and in the Waste Control Regulation.

Industrial waste is any kind of waste created by commercial or industrial activities that poses health, safety, and/or environmental concerns. This form of waste includes lime, sulphur, asbestos, contaminated soil, empty chemical containers and drums, carbon, caustics, sludge, and industrial sump water.

Yard waste is waste from that comes from gardening or yard maintenance activities, such as lawn mowing and/or pruning. This kind of waste includes grass, leaves, plants, tree and hedge clippings, and sod​.

Learn more at garbage and waste FAQs.

We enforce the Waste Bylaw that regulates garbage disposal in Calgary. While this is the main bylaw related to garbage disposal in the city, sections of the Community Standards Bylaw and Traffic Bylaw also relate to the burning and transportation of waste materials.

This page is an overview of these regulations. Please refer to the actual bylaw for more detailed information. Original copies of the bylaw are available at the City Clerk's office.