Garbage Collection

If you did not receive a garbage cart before June 1, 2026, please call City Dispatch at 807-625-2195.

Residential housing with five units or less will receive garbage carts. Residential housing with six or more units will transition during a subsequent phase of the roll-out.

The City has established a units-to-carts ratio that works for several-unit apartments. These apartments may receive combinations of 240L and 360L carts. Capacity should be sufficient, and tenants should share. This avoids space issues with large numbers of carts.

If you are unsure if you have received the correct number of carts, please call City Dispatch at 807-625-2195.

The standard 240L garbage carts provided to residents holds approximately three bags. 

Do not overload your cart. You need to be able to close the lid fully. The mechanical arm on the truck picks up the cart and turns it completely upside-down during collection, and any materials jammed tightly into the cart may not fall out when tipped. 

Carts do not need to be full to be put out for collection. 

Tip: Some residents find it easier to lift smaller, lighter bags into the cart more frequently rather than dealing with one heavy bag. 

Yes, residents should bag their garbage before placing in the cart. Any bag that closes is adequate - green garbage bags, grocery bags, old blue bags are fine. This helps ensure that loose items do not escape when the cart is tipped into the collection truck, and reduces potential litter. 

No, the items we collect has not changed. Place only garbage in your garbage cart, and place recyclables in your GFL recycling cart.

Remember not to put out: 

• liquid waste, combustible materials, or soaked rags
• medical sharps (needles and lancets)
• batteries
• construction or demolition waste

No, there are no changes to your schedule. You may check your schedule on our Garbage and Recycling webpage.

The arms on the truck need to reach and collect your garbage cart, so the cart must be positioned on level ground at the end of your driveway or at the side of the road, with the arrows on the lid facing the road. Please space your garbage cart and your recycling cart three feet/one metre apart. The cart's lid must be fully closed. If you have an additional tagged bag of garbage for collection, place it on the ground next to the cart, not on top of the cart.

Remember that carts placed behind vehicles, or too close to other objects, cannot be accessed by the collection truck.  

If your cart breaks (examples: lid or wheel detaches) in the course of normal use, call City Dispatch at 807-625-2195 and the City will repair or replace.

No, the City provides one garbage cart per residential household.

You can put out an additional bag of garbage, FREE (no tag required) on your first collection date after:

• New Year's Day
• Victoria Day
• Labour Day 

Yes! You can still purchase tags, and you may affix a tag to one additional bag of garbage and set it beside your garbage cart for collection.

• Your garbage cart must be full
• Do not place a tagged additional bag on top of your cart
• Additional bags not adhering to these rules will not be collected

Tags are $2 each and may be purchased in sheets of five at all branches of the Thunder Bay Public Library, and from EcoSuperior at 562 Red River Rd.

Legal basement apartments can receive garbage carts. If the apartment is not a legal apartment, it is not eligible to receive a garbage cart. If you have a legal apartment, did not receive a garbage cart for it, and wish to receive one, please call City Dispatch at 807-625-2195.

No. Garbage carts are City property and are keyed to specific addresses - leave your cart at the residence.

If your cans are in good condition, repurpose them to store other items. Or, if you do not need them, you can bring them to the Landfill at 5405 Mapleward Road for free drop off between June 6 and July 4, 2026. Drop off empty cans at the signed location in the parking lot of the Landfill Administration Building - last left before the scales.

The City of Thunder Bay’s waste collection system has been a manual system, with garbage picked up by hand in bags or garbage cans. Automated cart-based collection or ‘auto-cart’ is considered a best practice in the solid waste management industry, leading to improvements in collection efficiency, worker safety and satisfaction, reductions in injuries and climate change impacts. 

Thunder Bay's automated garbage cart program also makes it easier for residents to get garbage to the curb (eliminating heavy lifting and dragging), and will protect garbage from weather and animals.

The adoption of an automated collection system for garbage is an action item in the City's 2014 Solid Waste Management Strategy, and approved by City Council for implementation.

Certain Thunder Bay households may need to set out more than the weekly garbage item limit due to medical circumstances. Under these circumstances, you may apply to increase the limit of waste to your garbage cart, plus two tagged bags of garbage. Approved applicants may be provided up to a maximum of 52 garbage tags per year. To be eligible for the exception, complete and return the Medical Exception Application.

This confidential application is for residents who are physically unable to roll their cart to the curb. The resident or a delegate must complete and return the Application for Garbage Cart Set-Out Service.