Delayed or Missed Collection

NOTE: For information on who to contact directly for missed collections please visit our Residential Waste and Recycling Collection page.

From time to time, waste (garbage and recycling) collection can get delayed due to inclement weather and/or poor road conditions. While Miller Waste and Emterra do their best to avoid any kind of collection delay, sometimes they are unavoidable.

Due to the nature of inclement weather delays Miller Waste and Emterra often won’t know if there will be a delay until it is happening. That makes proactively communicating these kinds of delays difficult as the weather is often unpredictable.

While we can’t control the weather, we can do our best to notify those affected by collection delays as early as possible.

Here’s how to get waste delay notifications:

Download the Recycle Coach app – the Recycle Coach app provides you with a personalized waste and recycling schedule right at your fingertips. Residents with the app will receive notifications for collection changes, delays, upcoming special collection days and recycling tips right to their mobile devices. Download the Recycle Coach app on your device today to stay on top of any collection delay.

Follow Kawartha Lakes on social media – collection delay notifications are sent out through our social media channels as soon as possible after Miller Waste has made us aware of the delay:

• Facebook: facebook.com/cityofkawarthalakes
• X (formerly Twitter): x.com/kawarthalakes

Subscribe to our Newsroom – moving forward, collection delays will be sent out in the form of a news release through the Kawartha Lakes Newsroom. Stay up-to-date on all of the latest municipal news, including waste collection delays by subscribing to our Newsroom today.

What to do if your waste is missed:

Instructions for what to do with your waste if it is not collected due to collection delays will be included in the notices sent out. Generally speaking, the following will apply to most if not all of these kinds of delays:

• Garbage Collection: If your garbage is missed, your next waste collection day will be a double garbage collection day. Meaning that instead of a two bag limit per household, you will be able to put out four bags (your garbage from last week plus your garbage for this week).
• Organics Collection: If your organics are missed, please bring your rollout bin back from the curb and put it out again for regular collection the following week on your regular organics collection day.
• Recycling: If your recycling is missed, since we only pick up one kind of recycling per week, we ask that you bring your missed recycling back inside and then bring it back out two weeks later for collection.
  
  • Example: Your container (blue bin) recycling was missed due to a delay on Thursday February 15. Since Thursday February 22 is a paper/fibre (green bin) collection day, we ask you to hold on to your container recycling until your next container recycling day on Thursday February 29.
  • Please note that even if there are recycling collection delays, bagged recycling will not be collected.

My waste was missed and the weather isn’t even that bad today

Along with the weather, there are other environmental challenges when it comes to waste collection in Kawartha Lakes.

When we experience a milder winter, like the 2024 winter, it can take longer for rural roads to develop frost. That means that our rural roads are softer than usual which makes driving on them with heavy vehicles like garbage trucks difficult. Especially on or after rainy, or snowy days. Depending on where you land on the truck’s usual route, the slower collection could lead to a delay.

While these types of delays are rare, they do happen and they will be communicated in the same way that an inclement weather delay is communicated.

What to do if your waste isn’t collected and it wasn’t due to a delay

On occasion, waste collection can be missed. If you notice that your waste hasn’t been picked up by 7 pm, we encourage you to check our social media channels to determine if there was any kind of collection delay.

If there isn’t any mention of a delay, your waste and/or recycling, or your street’s waste and/or recycling may have simply just been missed. Please visit our Residential Waste and Recycling Collection page for contractor contact information.

Bags of waste will be tagged and left behind if the bag:

• is not clear
• contains organics - if you are in the eligible urban areas (Bobycageon, Fenelon Falls, Omemee, Lindsay) you are not permitted any organics in your garbage
• contains recyclables
• contains any household hazardous waste
• contains needles or other sharp hazards
• is in a large 95 gallon cart

Was it in a clear bag?

All waste must be in clear bags for collection. Opaque bags such as white, black or green garbage bags are not accepted.

Did it contain recyclable material or hazardous waste?

Bags that contain more than 10% recyclable materials or any hazardous waste will be left behind. Recycling needs to be sorted into the appropriate bins for collection.

Was it out on time?

Waste and recycling must be 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.

Did it contain construction or demolition waste?

Construction and demolition waste such as wood, drywall, carpet, tiles, piping etc. is not collected curbside. You will need to take this waste to your nearest landfill site. Construction and demolition waste can be recycled at the Lindsay Ops Landfill.

Is it contained and clearly marked?

You are responsible for your garbage and recycling until it is collected. To keep animals out of your garbage, please place material in a garbage container (less than 32 gallons in size) with a lid, without bungee cords. Please do not spray bags with bleach or cayenne pepper; it's a safety hazard to the collectors.

Waste storage bins for the temporary storage of weekly household waste may be permitted for end of laneway use in rural (non-urban settlement areas/non-hamlet settlement areas) areas, as long as they are placed at 2.0 metres from the road’s edge (i.e. from the start of the grass/ditch and off the soft shoulder).

The placement of the waste storage bin shall not interfere with any City maintenance operations or be placed in such a manner that poses an increased safety risk for users of the roadway including pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

Waste storage bins shall be constructed of light grade material (i.e. no steel) to allow for breaking upon impact if struck by a vehicle.

Waste storage bins shall be no more than 1 metre high in the front of the box, and if the box has a lid, the lid shall be hinged and of a weight and construction to allow collection staff to open the lid with ease.

Waste storage bins shall also have a flagging device (similar to mailbox) to alert collection staff when there are materials inside to be collected.

The Owner is responsible to ensure the area surrounding the waste storage bin is clear of snow, ice and debris to ensure safe access. Waste storage bins are placed at the Owner’s risk and are the sole responsibility of the Owner.

The City, including its contractors, agents and employees, shall not be liable for any damages to the waste storage bin or any materials or structures forming part of or attached to the waste storage bin.

The Owner shall hold the City, including its contractors, agents and employees harmless from and against any and all manner of claims, loss, damage or injury to any person or property directly or indirectly arising from the Owner’s placement of the waste storage bin.

The City reserves the right to reject the placement of any waste storage bins, even if such waste storage bins meet all of the above specifications, as per the City Lands Encroachment By-Law.

What size is it?

We have a limit of two garbage bags per week. The maximum weight for each bag is 40 pounds or 18 kilograms. If you are using a bin/container to hold the bags the container including the bags must not weigh more than  40lbs.

Over-sized bags count as two bags of garbage. If you need to place more than two bags at the curb for collection you will need to purchase bag tags. Large 65 or 95 gallon carts will not be accepted.