Put Your Holiday Waste In The Right Place

Create Memories, Not Waste

The holiday season is a time for giving and gathering—but it can also bring an increase in waste. From decorations and food scraps to Christmas trees and wrapping paper, let's make this season merry and less wasteful!

  • Holiday collection schedule

    For the holidays, Wednesday cart pickup will move to Monday.

    Instead of the usual Wednesday pickup, your blue, black and/or green cart will be collected on: Monday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 30

    Check you schedule and sign up for reminders.

Low waste gift ideas

Create memories, not waste! Activities together or gifts you make yourself are always extra special and help reduce the extra waste created during the holidays.

Give experiences or donations

Tickets to a play, concert, or sporting event. Or donate to a favorite charity instead of material items.

Make something special

Make edible gifts like cookies or jam.

Secret Santa gift exchange

Set up a Secret Santa gift exchange with friends and family to limit the number of presents needed.

Wrap wise

Repurposing and reusing products for gift wrapping can help reduce waste during the holidays.

Get creative with unique wrapping

Wrap gifts with dish towels, in jars or other household items you can reuse again later.

Repurpose paper products by using newspapers and flyers to wrap gifts and then recycle after.

Fabric gift bags

Start a new gift-wrapping tradition by making gift bags that can be reused every year.

Reuse gift boxes and bags

Most gift bags, boxes and tissue paper can be reused multiple times.

Save your gift wrap to reuse for your next holiday or other celebrations.

Holiday entertainment

Entertaining over the holidays doesn’t have to be expensive or wasteful with these tips.

Low waste gatherings

If hosting a gathering but need a festive platter, punch bowl or other supplies – borrow don’t buy.

Use reusable dishware to serve food and avoid disposable tableware.

Encourage guests to bring reusable containers instead of using plastic wrap, or tin foil.

Meal planning and grocery shopping

Check what you have at home and plan your meals to ensure you are buying the right quantity of items.

Plan portions appropriately. Prepare only what you and your guests will eat.

Once your planning is done, make a detailed grocery list and buy only what you need.

Plan for leftovers

Before the holidays, make room in your fridge. Use up any food that needs to be eaten before adding new holiday leftovers.

Start a broth bag. Save bones and vegetable ends and tops in a resealable bag or container.

Share and freeze leftovers.

Holiday decorations

There are many beautiful ways to decorate your home for the holidays without buying. 

Borrow from nature

Look no further than your own backyard for inspiration – pinecones, branches, leaves and twigs can be used for decorations. This year, make your wreath or centerpiece with nature’s greenery. It’s easy, smells good and compostable!

Shop with intention

When buying new decorations, choose quality items you’ll want to use year after year. Mix these with home made and nostalgic items to build a collection of decorations you love.

Repurpose decorations

Tired of your decorations? Host a decoration swap with friends or family.

Jingle all the way to the right bin

Don’t take a break from recycling and composting during the busiest season. Put your holiday waste in the right place. Not sure what goes where? Check below or use the What Goes Where search tool to find out where to recycle, compost, or dispose of your everyday items, and how to properly prepare them.

Paper and cardboard

Place the following in your blue cart:

  • Wrapping and tissue paper 
  • Greeting cards
  • Paper gift bags
  • Boxes of all kinds
  • Paper shipping envelopes (paper inside and outside, no bubble wrap).

Tips:

  • Crumple your wrapping paper. This makes it easier for the recycling sorting equipment to identify and sort the paper.
  • Flatten your cardboard to make more space in your blue bin.
  • Remove all ribbons, bows and strings, save these to reuse for next year.

Stretchy plastic bags, shipping bags and bubble wrap

Bundle your stretchy plastic bags and plastic wrap into a single bag, fill it up and tie it closed. Place in your blue cart. This includes:

  • Bubble wrap
  • Shipping pillows – release the air inside.
  • Stretchy plastic bags – most new items come in a clear plastic bag for shipping purposes.
  • Plastic shipping bags
  • Plastic bubble mailers (plastic on the outside and bubble wrap on the inside).

Food scraps and food-soiled paper

Compost turkey bones, vegetable peelings, napkins, and food soiled paper plates in your green cart.

Tip: Put cooking oil, fats, sauces, drippings, and grease in your green cart. Soak up with a paper towel or solidify fats and grease by letting it cool at room temperature or in the fridge.

Foam packaging

Remember, foam packaging doesn't belong in your blue bin—keep it out to prevent contamination.

Bring your acceptable foam packaging to a City Eco Centre for recycling.

Acceptable packing includes:

  • Foam cushion packaging (often used to protect electronics, furniture, etc.)
  • Foam egg cartons
  • Foam meat trays
  • Foam take-out containers and cups
  • White and coloured foam. No black polystyrene foam.

Can’t get to an Eco Centre? Put all types of foam in your black cart as garbage.

Tip: Collect foam packaging over time, just like you would with bottles for the bottle depot and take a larger batch in one trip to a City Eco Centre.

Batteries and electronics

Batteries and electronics need to be separated and taken to a different location for safe handling. Placing batteries or electronics in any of your bins is a fire hazard. 

Take all types of batteries and electronics to a City Eco Centre for free.

Find more free drop-off locations for single-use, rechargeable, and e-mobility batteries at recycleyourbatteries.ca.

Broken toys and decorations

Broken toys and holiday décor belongs in the black cart if it can’t be reused. This includes:

  • Christmas lights
  • Tinsel
  • Broken ornaments

Keep tanglers out of the recycling! Things like Christmas lights make a total mess at the recycling facility. They end up wrapping around all the good recyclables creating a giant “hairball” that stops the sorting process and is a hazard to clean up.

Holiday cleanup

No one looks forward to post-holiday cleanup, but these tips can make it easier and help reduce waste.

Do Sort and reorganize gift wrapping

  • After opening gifts, gather crumpled wrapping in a recycling bin or cardboard box to sort through.
  • For recycling, remember that the key word is paper-based wrap. Use the ‘tear test’—if it tears like paper, it’s recyclable. If not, it is likely a cellophane type of product that should be disposed of as garbage.
  • Small amounts of tape and glitter from paper wrapping paper is okay – don’t stress about removing all of it.
  • Keep and store any reusable items like ribbons, bows and gift bags for next year.

Do Visit an City Eco Centre after the holidays

  • Collect all your holiday foam packaging, broken toys, electronics, dead batteries and Christmas decorations and make one convenient trip to a City Eco Centre.

Do Compost your real tree

  • Remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel, string and tree stand, cut your tree and put in your green cart. Or take to a Christmas tree drop-off location. Learn more.

Do Use Garbage tags if needed

  • Your holiday cleanup may have created extra trash. Remember extra garbage bags beside the black cart require tags.

Make this holiday season waste-wise by reusing, recycling, and composting where you can. Happy holidays from our team to yours!

drop-off/landfill-throw-n-go-facilities,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null