Waste removal in Ottawa: three-item limit, bulky items, Trail Road fees and bin permits

Quick answer: Ottawa collects up to three garbage items every two weeks, and a bulky item such as a sofa or mattress counts as one of the three. Anything over the limit must go in a City yellow bag (four for $17.60), and furniture cannot be bagged. The Trail Waste Facility charges $172.70 a tonne for residential garbage, with a $43.20 minimum. A bin in the roadway needs a temporary construction-related encroachment permit ($101 for up to 10 working days, plus at least $41 a day in rental), and dumping has been reported to carry a $615 fine.

How waste removal works in Ottawa

The City of Ottawa collects garbage and green bins; since Ontario moved to producer responsibility, recycling in Ottawa is collected by Circular Materials on behalf of producers (see our guide to Ontario’s producer-run Blue Box). In 2024 the City introduced a three-item garbage limit. That limit shapes almost every decision about bulky waste here, because a sofa or mattress uses up one of your three spaces.

Bulky items and the three-item limit

We read the City’s curbside garbage collection and yellow bag pages in September 2026:

Rule	What the City says
How often	Three garbage items every two weeks; recycling and green bins are unlimited
What counts as one item	A bag or bin up to 140 litres and under 15 kg, or one bulky item such as furniture
Bulky items	Cannot be bagged, and a bag cannot be attached to the item
Over the limit	Extra garbage must go in a City-branded yellow bag; otherwise it is left with a courtesy tag
Yellow bags	Four for $17.60, tax included, from Client Service Centres, some hardware stores and recreation centres
Carpet	Tied and bundled, no longer than 1.2 m, no wider than 60 cm and under 15 kg
Timing	Out after 6 pm the night before and by 7 am on collection day, near the road but not on the sidewalk or a snowbank

So a house can put out, say, one sofa and two bags in a collection week. Clearing several large items takes several collection cycles, or a trip to the landfill, or a private crew. Before you throw furniture out, see what you can sell, donate or reuse.

Trail Waste Facility landfill rates

Residents can take their own waste, including construction material from their own home, to the City’s Trail Waste Facility at 4475 Trail Road. The 2026 rates:

Material	2026 rate
Residential garbage (including homeowner construction material)	$172.70 a tonne above 250 kg; $43.20 minimum under 250 kg
Mixed garbage and recyclable materials	$345.40 a tonne; $86.40 minimum
Fill (asphalt, masonry, concrete without rebar)	$144 a tonne; $36 minimum
Soil (topsoil, sand, sod)	$81.90 a tonne; $20.50 minimum
Brush and yard waste	$141.90 a tonne above 100 kg; $14.20 minimum
Tyres (up to 10 a day), scrap metal, electronic waste	Free

Sort recyclable packaging out first: a mixed load is charged at double the garbage rate. The facility does not take commercial garbage, asbestos, liquid or hazardous waste, and it was not accepting cash or cheques when we checked; bring a card.

Bins in the roadway: encroachment permits

The City lists a “roll off or disposal bin in roadway or public laneway” as needing a temporary construction-related encroachment permit under the Road Activity By-law. A bin on your own driveway is on private land. The 2026 charges:

Charge	2026 fee
Simple permit (10 working days or less)	$101
Complex permit (longer, or a renewal)	$998
Rental on sidewalk or roadway	$2.02 per m² per day
Rental on boulevard	$0.87 per m² per day
Minimum rental charge	$41 a day

The City asks for at least 10 business days to process a permit, and fees are non-refundable. Ask the bin company who applies and whether the permit is in its price.

Illegal dumping fines

Report dumping on a road, in a park or on private property through the City’s illegal dumping page or 311. Capital Current, a Carleton University news outlet, reported in 2025 that the fine for unauthorised dumping under the Solid Waste Services, Property Maintenance and Care of Roads by-laws had risen by $115 to $615. We could not find the figure on the City’s own pages, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed.

Typical private prices in Ottawa

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 Ottawa-only figure we could check. With the landfill at $172.70 a tonne and a three-item curb limit, it is worth getting quotes before a large clear-out.

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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 Ottawa

In Ontario, a business that transports other people’s waste generally needs an environmental permission from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks: 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 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 Ottawa

These firms appear in public business listings for Ottawa. 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.