Curbside waste (garbage) collection
Note: tissues (Kleenex), paper towel, toilet paper, and diapers are not recyclable. These items are waste and should be disposed of in a clear bag and tied closed. This is especially important to keep collection staff safe.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding collection please use our report it page
Make sure your waste and recycling is set out at the curb by 7am (6am if you live in a downtown core). Trucks do not always come at the same time every week. On your collection day leave your waste and recycling at the curb until 7pm before bringing it back inside if it was not collected.
Garbage cannot be collected from large 65 or 95 gallon carts from any property within the City.
View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar or download our app to find out the collection schedule for your home. 
You can also use our Curbside Collection Map to find out when your collection day is or download our helpful handout titled "What goes where" to hang on your fridge, office wall or near your recycling bins! The handout also includes a “year at a glance” page. This helpful handout includes all special collection days, such as leaf and yard or battery, and has a space at the top to write your household’s day of the week. This is handy to have on the fridge for those who have visitors or for short term rentals.
Never put broken glass into your garbage bag. It should go into a sealed and labelled cardboard box for disposal. Place the box on top of or beside your waste and recycling on the curb.
Not sure whether an item is waste or recycling? Use our Recycle Coach Waste Wizard tools below to help you identify where you place your waste and recycling.
| Clear bag program | ||||||||||||
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The City of Kawartha Lakes participates in clear bag waste collection. Benefits of clear bag waste collection include:
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| Bag limit | ||||||||||||
| There is a 2 bag limit per household of residential waste curbside. If anyone wants to put out additional bags at curbside, bag tags can be purchased from the Service Centres. One tag is required for each additional bag of waste on top of the two bag limit. |
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| Privacy | ||||||||||||
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Privacy bags are small opaque bags that allow you to discretely dispose of personal items. Many people use grocery bags or white kitchen catchers as their privacy bags. You are allowed a maximum of two small privacy bags each week, one inside of each of your two clear bags per week. Privacy bags should be approximately the size of a standard grocery bag.
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| Why was my waste left behind? | ||||||||||||
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Bags of waste will be tagged and left behind if the bag:
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Winter collection
To protect public safety and the safety of our collectors we sometimes need to cancel waste collection if road conditions become dangerous. All cancellations will be posted on our website.
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If you receive curbside waste and recycling collection on a private seasonal road during the winter months, please ensure your road is plowed and sanded as required. You will receive curbside collection if the road is maintained to the following standards:
If the collection contractor assesses the road as unsafe for a collection vehicle, you will not receive curbside collection until such time as winter maintenance occurs. Note: Collection may be delayed if road conditions do not allow for safe passage by collection vehicles. |
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If your road does not receive curbside waste and recycling collection between November 1 and May 1 you can use an alternate winter collection location to have your waste and recycling picked up. As always waste must be in clear bags. There is a two bag waste limit and additional bags and large items require pre-paid tags for collection. The construction of permanent storage containers at the alternative set out locations will not be permitted. Your collection day will not change. View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar or download our app to find out when your collection day is.
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Curbside tags for online purchase
Did you know that you can purchase curbside tags for mattresses, bulky items and Freon objects online? In just three easy steps you can schedule your curbside pick up with Miller Waste from the comfort of your own home.
View our online order form
Curbside recycling collection
NEW: As of April 1, 2024 household recycling in Kawartha Lakes is the responsibility of the producers. All recycling inquiries should now go through Circular Materials, visit the Kawartha Lakes page on their website to learn more.
Moving forward, if you have any recycling related inquiries, please contact your recycling collector:
- Phone: 1-888-557-4711
- Email: kawarthalakes@millerwaste.ca
Miller Waste will help with missed collections, and other recycling questions you may have!
If you'd like to provide feedback or comments in regards to Miller Waste's recycling collection services, you can contact Circular Materials:
- Phone: 1-877-667-2626
- Email: customerservice@circularmaterials.ca
Please note that there are no changes to your recycling collection services, other than who to contact for customer service. Recycling in Kawartha Lakes will remain the same and the below information still applies:
| Recycling in Kawartha Lakes | ||||
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Recycling must be loose in containers. Bagged recycling will not be picked up. Not sure whether an item is waste or recycling? Use our Waste Wizard to find out what goes where. Make sure your waste and recycling is set out at the curb by 7am (6am if you live in a downtown core). Trucks do not always come at the same time every week. On your collection day leave your waste and recycling at the curb until 7pm before bringing it back inside if it was not collected. There is no limit to the amount you can recycle each week. Blue Box and Green Box recycling are collected on alternating weeks. Recycling must be placed loose in wide-mouthed bins (16 to 22 gallons) at the curb (large 95 gallon carts will not be accepted and are for multi-residential and commercial use only)
View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar or download our app to find out the collection schedule for your home. Never put broken glass into your recycling bin. It should go into a sealed and labelled cardboard box for disposal. Place the box on top of or beside your waste and recycling on the curb. If you need additional recycling boxes, please contact Miller Waste.
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Curbside battery collection
The next Curbside Battery Collections are during the week of March 17 to 20 and November 10 to 13, 2025. View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar to find out when your collection day is.
Instructions:
- Put used or unwanted, single-use dry cell batteries inside your clear sealable bag (Ziploc or similar). Remember to cover 9V battery terminals and both sites of button batteries with tape;
- Put sealed bag where it's visible to your collector on your regular collection day during the weeks of March 17 to 20, 2025 and November 10 to 13, 2025;
Please do not place any loose batteries in your recycling box.
Acceptable batteries include:
- A
- AA
- AAA
- C
- D
- 9V
- button batteries
- lantern batteries
Unacceptable batteries include:
- rechargeable batteries (laptop, cellphone batteries, etc.)
- automotive batteries
- industrial batteries
These batteries can be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste depots for disposal at the Lindsay Ops and Fenelon landfills.
Curbside leaf and yard waste collection
Spring
- If your scheduled collection day is on Monday or Wednesday, your spring leaf and yard collection will occur on Friday June 6.
- If your scheduled collection day is on Tuesday or Thursday, your spring leaf and yard collection will occur on Friday June 13.
Fall
- If your scheduled collection day is on Monday or Wednesday, your fall leaf and yard collection will occur on Friday November 7 and Friday November 21.
- If your scheduled collection day is on Tuesday or Thursday, your fall leaf and yard collection will occur on Friday November 14 and Friday November 28.
All leaf and yard waste must be set out in paper bags or neatly bundled. Plastic bags are not accepted. If the material does not fit into a paper yard waste bag or is set out on your regular waste collection day it will not be collected.
Items that are not accepted during leaf and yard collection include:
- Christmas trees
- grass clippings
- stumps and yard waste over 7.5 cm in diameter and 91.4 cm in length
- soil and sod
These items can be taken to a City landfill site.
Normally, curbside leaf and yard collection only applies to low density residential locations (1-2 units) and mobile home parks, but for the years of 2021 and 2022, high density residential locations (3+ units) and trailer parks are also eligible for curbside collection. This expanded service will be reviewed in 2022, to determine if it will be continued in the future.
Large item collection
To have large items, mattresses/box springs and appliances containing Freon collected at the curb you must purchase the appropriate tag/sticker and then call Miller Waste to arrange pick-up. Large item tags/stickers can be bought online or at one of our Service Centres, details can be found here. All items with a door must have the door removed to be collected.
| Large items and appliances |
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Purchase a 'Large Item' sticker at a cost of $15.00 and attach to each item. Large items and appliances include:
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| Freon Items |
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In addition to the $15.00 Large Item sticker, appliances containing Freon must also be tagged with a pre-paid Freon Appliance sticker. Freon Appliance stickers cost $22.00 per item. The total cost to have a Freon item collected at the curb is $37.00. Only appliances with Freon removed by a licensed technician and certified Freon Free do not require the $22.00 sticker. Freon items include:
Please call Miller Waste Systems Inc. at 1-888-557-4711 to schedule your collection before setting your Freon items on the curb. |
| Mattresses and box springs |
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Mattress Stickers: $20.00 each Box Spring Stickers: $20.00 each |
Medical waste register
Our Medical Waste Register is for residents and medical professionals who need to place more than two bags of waste at the curb each week because of in-home treatment or other medical reasons. The Register offers a supply of garbage bag tags at no cost to help manage the extra waste.
To qualify for the Medical Waste Register:
- Complete the Medical Waste Patient Certification Form;
- Take the form to your medical practitioner to confirm that in-home treatment is taking place and extra waste may be produced. Your medical practitioner must sign the form;
- Mail the completed form to:
Waste Management, City of Kawartha Lakes
322 Kent Street West, PO BOX 9000,
Lindsay, Ontario, K9V 4T7.
You can also email it to waste management.
This program will only address the needs of residents undergoing medical treatment. Large families and other individuals and/or businesses who cannot meet set- out limits will not be eligible for this program.
My waste collection was missed or delayed, what now?
From time to time, waste (garbage and recycling) collection can get delayed due to inclement weather and/or poor road conditions. While our waste collection partner, Miller Waste, does their best to avoid any kind of collection delay, sometimes they are unavoidable.
Visit our Waste Collection Delay page to learn:
- How to sign up for Waste Collection Delay notifications
- What to do if your waste was missed due to a delay
- What to do if your waste was just missed
Contact Us