Waste removal in Toronto: oversized item pickup, street occupation permits and depot fees

Quick answer: Toronto collects oversized items such as furniture and appliances free at the curb on your garbage day, set out beside your garbage bin; the service is paid for through the annual solid waste fee on every home. Renovation waste is not collected and goes to a Drop-Off Depot, where garbage costs $189.86 a tonne with a $19 minimum. A bin on the road or in a laneway needs a Street Occupation Permit ($73.89 plus HST a day to apply outside a Construction Hub), and the set fine for illegal dumping is $500.

How waste removal works in Toronto

The City of Toronto collects household garbage, recycling, organics and oversized items from houses and many multi-residential buildings. Anything it will not take, such as renovation waste, goes either to one of the City’s Drop-Off Depots, where you pay by weight, or to a private junk removal firm or bin rental company. A bin that sits on the street rather than your driveway needs a City permit, and dumping waste anywhere it does not belong carries a fine. Since 1 January 2026, Blue Box recycling in Ontario has been run by producers rather than the City; our guide to Ontario’s producer-run Blue Box explains what changed.

Oversized and metal items at the curb

We read the City’s oversized and metal items page in September 2026. The key rules:

Rule	What the City says
Cost	No charge per item; an annual fee for the service is charged to each house and multi-residential unit whether or not you use it
When and where	Set items out beside your garbage bin on your garbage collection day, with 0.5 metres of space between items
What counts	Furniture, appliances, bicycles, barbecues (without the propane tank), artificial Christmas trees and similar large items
Appliances	Remove the doors from fridges, ovens and other appliances first
Carpet and underpad	Bundles no longer than four feet and no heavier than 20 kg (44 lb)
Mattresses	Collected as an oversized item; if a mattress has bed bugs, wrap it completely in plastic
Not collected	Renovation and construction waste, including baseboards, bathtubs, cabinets, countertops, doors, drywall, fencing, insulation, lumber, plaster, shingles, siding and tiles
Hazardous waste	Propane tanks, paint, cleaners and batteries go to a Drop-Off Depot or a booked home pickup instead

If you cannot carry items to the curb, or you are emptying a whole house, a private crew is the usual answer. Before you pay to dispose of a mattress or sofa, see our guides to mattress disposal and what you can sell, donate or reuse.

Drop-Off Depot fees

Renovation waste and anything else the curb service refuses can go to a City Drop-Off Depot. You pay by weight, and the City takes a deposit (at least $40) before you tip. These are the 2026 rates on the City’s depot fees page:

Material	2026 rate
Garbage and renovation waste	$189.86 a tonne; $19 minimum, which covers the first 100 kg
Recycling	$142.40 a tonne
Mattresses (from 1 July 2026)	$142.40 a tonne
Metal and yard waste	$142.40 a tonne; free for loads under 20 kg
Household hazardous waste and electronic waste	Free

Payment is by cash, debit or credit card. Tyres were not being accepted at depots when we checked.

Bins on the street: Street Occupation Permits

A disposal bin on your own driveway sits on private land. Once it goes in the roadway or a public laneway, the City lists it as needing a Street Occupation Permit, the same permit used for other temporary uses of the public right of way during demolition, renovation or construction. Permits are obtained in person and paid for when they are issued.

2026 fee (plus HST, per day)	Outside a Construction Hub	Inside a Construction Hub
Application	$73.89	$92.35
Additional lane closure	$178.81	$223.51
Full lane closure	$894.03	$1,117.53

Ask the bin company whether it will arrange the permit and whether the daily fee is already in its price. A bin that blocks a lane may need more than the basic permit.

Illegal dumping fines

The City’s litter and illegal dumping page gives the fine as $500 under the Littering and Dumping By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 548). On conviction the penalties are far higher: after By-law 1150-2026, passed in July 2026, a first conviction for dumping carries a fine of up to $10,000 and a later one up to $100,000; for a corporation the maximums are $50,000 and $100,000. Report dumping to 311. The City says it will only investigate dumping on private property if a witness can identify who did it and is willing to testify. Paying someone to take your waste does not end your interest in where it goes, so ask any remover where they tip.

Typical private prices in Toronto

For typical private prices, use the national ranges in our Canada waste removal costs guide. 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s Canadian pricing page (updated September 2026) puts a small load (minimum to a quarter truck) at $107 to $396, a medium load at $396 to $600 and a large load at $600 to $1,099, and HomeStars’ dumpster rental guide (updated August 2026) gives $299 to $410 for a 10-yard bin and $399 to $495 for a 20-yard bin. All figures are in Canadian dollars. We did not find a published, independent Toronto-only figure we could check, so treat the national ranges as a guide. Condo loading docks, stairs and the depot rate of $189.86 a tonne for garbage all feed into local quotes.

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We are a comparison and referral service, not a waste removal company. We do not guarantee a quote, a price or a response time. In the UK, always check the carrier's waste carrier registration before handing over waste.

How to choose a provider in Toronto

In Ontario, a business that transports other people’s waste generally needs an environmental permission from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks: either an Environmental Compliance Approval for a waste management system or a registration on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry, depending on what it carries. Ask which one the company holds and the number, and check it on the province’s Access Environment search. Then:

Ask for the price in writing and what it includes: labour, the share of the truck, disposal fees and extra charges for mattresses, fridges, tyres or electronics.
For a bin, ask about the weight allowance, the charge per tonne over it, how many days are included and what cannot go in (paint, propane tanks, batteries and tyres are common exclusions).
If the bin will sit on the street, ask who will apply for the city permit and whether the fee is in the price.
Ask where the waste goes and get a receipt that names the company.
Check the city option first. For a few bulky items, the city service described above may cost little or nothing.

Our checklist on comparing waste removal quotes works for Canadian quotes too.

Waste removal businesses in Toronto

These firms appear in public business listings for Toronto. We have not checked their work, prices, permits or insurance, and they have not paid to appear. Ask each one about its provincial waste permission before you book.