Pandemic prompts changes to Toronto garbage rules
Posted September 30, 2020 2:35 pm.
Last Updated September 30, 2020 2:48 pm.
With the City of Toronto now in it’s second wave of COVID-19, and cold-and-flu-season around the corner, a reminder that Toronto’s garbage and recycling rules have changed due to the pandemic.
Since the end of March, the city has re-assigned tissues, paper towels, napkins and period products to the garbage bin, instead of the green bin.
Masks, rubber gloves and other Personal Protective Equipment has always been a garbage item. The one exception is diapers, which can still go into organics collection.
“Like many other jurisdictions, Toronto is doing this as a precaution in response to COVID-19,” says Matt Keliher, Toronto’s general manager of solid waste management services. “The city is asking people to make this adjustment as the industry works to better understand the implications of COVID-19 on waste management.”
The Toronto Environmental Alliance advises that any COVID-related trash should go into its own bag before going in the bin.
Use the City of Toronto Waste Wizard or the TOwaste app to double-check whether items belong in the trash, organics bin, or recycling.
