Get details about food waste collections
Collection schedules, accepted materials, materials that are not accepted and types of bins that are allowed. Find out how to put out table scraps for collection and composting.
Food waste is collected in 15 boroughs.
In four boroughs (Lachine, Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, Pierrefonds-Roxboro et Saint-Laurent), this collection is replaced by the organic waste collection, where green waste is also picked up.
If food waste collection is available for your type of building, you must participate and no longer put your kitchen scraps in your household waste.
You’ll be helping to reduce the amount of garbage that goes to the landfill and preserve the environment, since food waste makes up 57 percent of the contents of a garbage bag.
To avoid being fined, be sure to follow collection schedules and obey all legislation.
My borough
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Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings, companies, businesses, organizations and schools
Food waste collection will be offered:
- In Saint-Sulpice, starting October 24, 2024
- In Bordeaux-Cartierville, starting June 6, 2025
As long as food waste collection is not offered in your district, the food waste collection is included in the household waste collection. You can put table scraps in your regular garbage can.
It is now offered in Ahuntsic and Sault-au-Récollet.
As soon as this collection is available, you must participate.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Communication channels
By phone
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
From May 2024 and throughout 2025, food waste collection will be gradually rolled out to buildings with 9 or more dwellings, schools, shops and businesses. The first neighbourhood to be affected, starting May 23, is north of Boulevard Métropolitain. The new collection will take place once a week on Thursdays, replacing the existing household waste collection.
If your sector is not yet covered, you can still put your table scraps in your regular garbage can since the food waste collection is included in the household waste collection.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Until 2024, the collection of food waste will be gradually implemented in all buildings of 9 dwellings or more, companies, businesses, schools, hospitals and organizations in the borough.
This fall, the next sector will be:
If you live in an area where brown bins have not yet been introduced, you can use community composting sites.
As a last resort, you can put your table scraps in the garbage.
Residents of buildings with more than nine dwellings have priority.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
This service is not offered in this borough.
Collection schedules
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough (45, 120 or 240 litres)
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with 20 or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings of 21 dwellings or more, businesses, industries and institutions
Since September 1, 2024, collection has taken place throughout the borough, excluding in sector 1a, for the 21 dwellings or more, businesses, industries and institutions.
Restaurants and food waste
If you manage or own a restaurant, you must hire a company specializing in the collection of food waste if the volume produced is over 720 litres per week, since the city’s collection service is limited that specific volume per week per address.
You must also obtain a permit in order to place your food waste container on public property.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Acceptable volume
Stores, schools and offices: a maximum of 720 litres
Legislation
Collection schedules
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Maximum volume
- 240 litres per residential unit
- 720 litres per commercial or industrial establishment
Legislation
This service is not offered in this borough.
Collection schedules
Food waste collection is available for all types of buildings.
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
Since May 2023, food waste collection has been gradually implemented in all buildings of 9 dwellings or more, industries, businesses and institutions.
The implementation is done in sectors 1 and 2.
The implementation will continue with sector 3 in 2024 and sector 4 in 2025.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Maximum acceptable volume
- Organizations, businesses and companies (if applicable): 720 litres per collection (except for municipal buildings and educational institutions)
Legislation
Collection schedule
To find out when to put out your brown bin, see Info-Collectes.
Food waste collection is now available for all building types (eight dwellings or less, nine dwellings or more, compagnies, businesses, organizations and schools).
Rules to be respected
- Place the brown bin in the alley with the wheels facing the building before 8:00 a.m. on the morning of collection.
- If access to the alley is not possible or there is no alley, place the brown bin in front of the building.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
This service is not offered in this borough.
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
Food waste collection is being gradually implemented in all buildings of 9 dwellings or more, industries, businesses and institutions.
Here is the area that will be included Fall 2024:
For sectors where collection is already offered, visit Info-Collectes to know when to put out your brown bin.
If you do not live in one of these areas, you must continue to put your table scraps in your regular garbage can (household waste collection).
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
This service is not offered in this borough.
Collection schedules
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin (to be favoured)
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin. Please note that the word “compostable” must appear on the box. “Biodegradable” bags are not always compostable.
Maximum volume
- 720 litres per commercial or industrial establishment
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
Food waste collection is available in the following areas: sector 1 (Crawford Park and L’Île-des-Sœurs), sector 2, sector 3, sector 4.
Food waste collection will be offered in Sector 5, beginning November 11, 2024
For collection schedules, please visit Info-Collectes.
If you are a building manager and have questions, please contact Nature Action Québec, the organization that is in charge of the launch, at 514-765-8378 or by email at [email protected].
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
Preferred
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Not recommended
- Compostable plastic bags, even those certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization), for depositing food waste inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings
The food waste collection is included in the household waste collection, except in sector 4 as of Novembre 1, 2022.
Sector 4 is bordered by Rue Champlain (both sides), Rue Sherbrooke (both sides), the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve border limit and the St. Lawrence River. In this sector, you must participate in the food waste collection.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
Collection schedules
Buildings with eight or fewer dwellings
To find out when to put out your brown bin, visit Info-Collectes.
Buildings with nine or more dwellings, companies, businesses, organizations and schools
Food waste collection is now offered in François-Perrault and Parc-Extension.
It will be deployed:
- In Saint-Sulpice, starting November 6, 2024
- In Villeray , starting summer 2025
As soon as this collection is available, please participate.
Acceptable materials in the brown bin
Acceptable containers
- Brown bin provided by the borough
- Compostable plastic bags certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (the Québec standards organization) placed inside your brown bin
- Paper bags placed inside your brown bin
Legislation
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Contact us if you have questions.