The City of Vaughan’s weekly spring leaf and yard waste collection begins the third week of April each year to help protect native and pollinator-friendly species. Research suggests that waiting to clean up your garden or yard, until temperatures are consistently warm (around 15 C and above), directly benefits these habitats.

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HELP MAKE WASTE COLLECTION SAFER FOR FRONT-LINE STAFF

Used masks, gloves and wipes must be securely bagged as garbage – learn more on how to safely set out your waste and protect staff.  

​To protect waste collectors in Vaughan during the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens are asked to carefully bag all garbage and green bin waste in plastic bags to safely contain the material.

 

It is important that waste is safely packaged and does not expose anyone to used personal protective equipment (PPE) items like medical masks, gloves and disposable wipes. These items need to be bagged as garbage. Tissues and paper towels belong in the green bin; please bag securely.

Citizens should continue to practice good infection prevention and control when handling any waste by washing their hands and any surfaces that it may have contacted.

The following steps should be taken when handling waste:

• Carefully bag all garbage and green bin materials in plastic bags.
• All personal hygiene and sanitary products, including medical masks, gloves, disinfectant wipes and baby wipes, must be placed in the garbage. Do not place these items in the blue box or green bin.
• If anyone in a household is ill, place any item that has come into contact with the mouth, nose or eyes into the garbage. This includes items that would normally be placed into the green bin (tissues, napkins) or blue box (water/beverage bottles, pop cans).
• Do not flush any disinfectant wipes or baby wipes down the toilet as they can damage plumbing and cause sewer blockages and backups. 

The City’s waste collection contractor, Miller Waste Systems Inc., continues to use the recommended PPE to protect workers from hazards they may encounter while handling residential waste bags and bins. 

Continue to check vaughan.ca/waste and vaughan.ca/COVID19 for updates and changes to service levels and schedules.