NEW: As of April 1, 2024 household recycling in Kawartha Lakes is the responsibility of the producers. All recycling inquiries should now go through Circular Materials, visit the Kawartha Lakes page on their website to learn more.
If you have any recycling related inquiries, please contact your recycling collector, Miller:
Miller Waste will help with missed collections, and other recycling questions you may have!
If you'd like to provide feedback or comments in regards to Miller Waste's recycling collection services, you can contact Circular Materials:
Please note that there are currently no changes to your recycling collection services, other than who to contact for customer service. Recycling in Kawartha Lakes will remain the same and the below information still applies:
Note: Your Recycling Collection is changing but your Garbage Collection will still be Miller Waste!
If you have any questions or concerns regarding collection please use our report it page
Make sure your garbage and recycling is set out at the curb by 7am (6am if you live in a downtown core). Trucks do not always come at the same time every week. On your collection day leave your garbage and recycling at the curb until 7pm before bringing it back inside if it was not collected.
Garbage cannot be collected from large 65 or 95 gallon carts from any property within the City.
View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar or download our app to find out the collection schedule for your home.
You can also use our Curbside Collection Map to find out when your collection day is or download our helpful handout titled "What goes where" to hang on your fridge, office wall or near your recycling bins! The handout also includes a “year at a glance” page. This helpful handout includes all special collection days, such as leaf and yard or battery, and has a space at the top to write your household’s day of the week. This is handy to have on the fridge for those who have visitors or for short term rentals.
Never put broken glass into your garbage bag. It should go into a sealed and labelled cardboard box for disposal. Place the box on top of or beside your waste and recycling on the curb.
Not sure whether an item is waste or recycling? Use our Recycle Coach Waste Wizard tools below to help you identify where you place your waste and recycling.
The City of Kawartha Lakes participates in clear bag waste collection. Benefits of clear bag waste collection include:
There is a 2 bag limit per household of residential waste curbside.
If anyone wants to put out additional bags at curbside, bag tags can be purchased from the Service Centres. One tag is required for each additional bag of waste on top of the two bag limit.
Privacy bags are small opaque bags that allow you to discretely dispose of personal items. Many people use grocery bags or white kitchen catchers as their privacy bags.
You are allowed a maximum of two small privacy bags each week, one inside of each of your two clear bags per week. Privacy bags should be approximately the size of a standard grocery bag.
Bags of waste will be tagged and left behind if the bag:
All waste must be in clear bags for collection. Opaque bags such as white, black or green garbage bags are not accepted.
Bags that contain more than 10% recyclable materials or any hazardous waste will be left behind. Recycling needs to be sorted into the appropriate bins for collection.
Waste and recycling must be set out at the curb by 7am (6am if you live in a downtown core). Trucks do not always come at the same time every week.
Construction and demolition waste such as wood, drywall, carpet, tiles, piping etc. is not collected curbside. You will need to take this waste to your nearest landfill site. Construction and demolition waste can be recycled at the Lindsay Ops Landfill.
You are responsible for your garbage and recycling until it is collected. To keep animals out of your garbage, please place material in a garbage container (less than 32 gallons in size) with a lid, without bungee cords. Please do not spray bags with bleach or cayenne pepper; it's a safety hazard to the collectors.
Waste storage bins for the temporary storage of weekly household waste may be permitted for end of laneway use in rural (non-urban settlement areas/non-hamlet settlement areas) areas, as long as they are placed at 2.0 metres from the road’s edge (i.e. from the start of the grass/ditch and off the soft shoulder).
The placement of the waste storage bin shall not interfere with any City maintenance operations or be placed in such a manner that poses an increased safety risk for users of the roadway including pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
Waste storage bins shall be constructed of light grade material (i.e. no steel) to allow for breaking upon impact if struck by a vehicle.
Waste storage bins shall be no more than 1 metre high in the front of the box, and if the box has a lid, the lid shall be hinged and of a weight and construction to allow collection staff to open the lid with ease.
Waste storage bins shall also have a flagging device (similar to mailbox) to alert collection staff when there are materials inside to be collected.
The Owner is responsible to ensure the area surrounding the waste storage bin is clear of snow, ice and debris to ensure safe access. Waste storage bins are placed at the Owner’s risk and are the sole responsibility of the Owner.
The City, including its contractors, agents and employees, shall not be liable for any damages to the waste storage bin or any materials or structures forming part of or attached to the waste storage bin.
The Owner shall hold the City, including its contractors, agents and employees harmless from and against any and all manner of claims, loss, damage or injury to any person or property directly or indirectly arising from the Owner’s placement of the waste storage bin.
The City reserves the right to reject the placement of any waste storage bins, even if such waste storage bins meet all of the above specifications, as per the City Lands Encroachment By-Law.
We have a limit of two garbage bags per week. The maximum weight for each bag is 40 pounds or 18 kilograms. If you are using a bin/container to hold the bags the container including the bags must not weigh more than 40lbs.
Over-sized bags count as two bags of garbage. If you need to place more than two bags at the curb for collection you will need to purchase bag tags. Large 65 or 95 gallon carts will not be accepted.
To protect public safety and the safety of our collectors we sometimes need to cancel waste collection if road conditions become dangerous. All cancellations will be posted on our website.
Don't put waste bins/carts on snow banks
Please do not put your waste and/or recycling bins on top of or behind snow banks. Not only does it make the bins difficult to see or find (causing pickup delays), it’s also unsafe and could lead to broken containers and other collection/snow plowing issues.
Bins should be placed on the left side of your drive way (when looking at your house from the road) on flat ground and in a cleared area, so that they’re easy for the drivers to see and pickup:
Disapproved Drop Zone:
Approved Drop Zone:
Seasonal road maintenance requirements
If you receive curbside waste and recycling collection on a private seasonal road during the winter months, please ensure your road is plowed and sanded as required. You will receive curbside collection if the road is maintained to the following standards:
If the collection contractor assesses the road as unsafe for a collection vehicle, you will not receive curbside collection until such time as winter maintenance occurs.
Note: Collection may be delayed if road conditions do not allow for safe passage by collection vehicles.
Alternate winter collection set-out locations
If your road does not receive curbside waste and recycling collection between November 1 and May 1 you can use an alternate winter collection location to have your waste and recycling picked up. As always waste must be in clear bags. There is a two bag waste limit and additional bags and large items require pre-paid tags for collection. The construction of permanent storage containers at the alternative set out locations will not be permitted.
Your collection day will not change. View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar or download our app to find out when your collection day is.
| Road Name | Alternate Set-Out Location |
|---|---|
| Daisy Drive | Birch Glen Road |
| Rockway Trail | Otter Road |
| End of Maple Avenue - Long Point | Maple Avenue |
| Poplar Grove | Balsam Lakes Drive |
| Indian Court | Island Drive |
| Pine Court | Birch Glen Road |
| Outlook Court | Island Drive |
| Juniper Crescent | Birch Glen Road |
| Normwood Crescent | Woodworth Drive |
| Corby Crescent | Woodworth Drive |
| Hoskin Avenue | Highway #35 |
| Beachli Lane | Highway #35 |
| Relax Avenue | Highway #35 |
| Laurel Drive | Highway #35 |
| Tony's Trail | Highway #35 |
| Devon Drive | Highway #35 |
| Ridgeway Trail | Highway #35 |
| Merridale Drive | Somerville 7th Concession |
| Golden Drive | Somerville 7th Concession |
| Jack Pine Trail | Laxton Township 6th Line |
| Sparrow Lane | Lake Dalrymple |
| Shadow Lake Road #4 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #6 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #8 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #10 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #12 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #18 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #20 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #22 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #28 | Baseline Road |
| Shadow Lake Road #36 | Baseline Road |
| Basswood Drive | Burnt River Road |
| Autumn Lane | Burnt River Road |
| Woodfern Road | Highway #35 |
| Cerarvilla Road | Highway #35 |
| Loggers Road | Rustic Trail |
| Weldon Drive | Hugill Road |
| Forest Lane | Hugill Road |
| Birchleaf Drive | Monck Road |
| Miller Lane | McNevan Drive |
| Southfork Road |
Lightening Point Road |
| Cactus Lane | Monck Road |
| Road Name | Alternate Set-Out Location |
|---|---|
| Arbour Street | Snug Harbour Road |
| Rail Drive | Louisa Street |
| Past #64 Rose Street | Out to 'Y' turnaround |
| Walnut Street | Northline Road |
| Stewart's Road | Rutherford Road |
| Flint Street | Rutherford Road |
| Langton Lane | Blythe Shore Road |
| Manitou Lane | Pigeon Lake Road |
| Loon Lane | Heights Road |
| Major Avenue | Heights Road |
| Lochan Lane | Pigeon Lake Road |
| Regal Road | Fell's Bay Road |
| Road Name | Alternate Set-Out Location |
|---|---|
| Fox Beach Lane | Whippoorwill Lane |
| End of McCrackin Road | McCrackin Avenue |
| Goose Bay Lane | McNabb Road |
| Brotherston Gate | Highway #48 |
| McKelvey Road | Highway #48 |
| Evergreen Drive | Mara-Eldon Boundary Road |
Did you know that you can purchase curbside tags for mattresses, bulky items and Freon objects online? In just three easy steps you can schedule your curbside pick up with Miller Waste from the comfort of your own home.
To have large items, mattresses/box springs and appliances containing Freon collected at the curb you must purchase the appropriate tag/sticker and then call Miller Waste to arrange pick-up. Large item tags/stickers can be bought online or at one of our Service Centres, details can be found here. All items with a door must have the door removed to be collected.
Purchase a 'Large Item' sticker at a cost of $15.00 and attach to each item.
Large items and appliances include:
In addition to the $15.00 Large Item sticker, appliances containing Freon must also be tagged with a pre-paid Freon Appliance sticker. Freon Appliance stickers cost $22.00 per item. The total cost to have a Freon item collected at the curb is $37.00.
Only appliances with Freon removed by a licensed technician and certified Freon Free do not require the $22.00 sticker.
Freon items include:
Please call Miller Waste Systems Inc. at 1-888-557-4711 to schedule your collection before setting your Freon items on the curb.
Mattress Stickers: $20.00 each
Box Spring Stickers: $20.00 each
The next Curbside Battery Collections are during the week of March 17 to 20 and November 10 to 13, 2025. View our Recycling and Waste Collection Calendar to find out when your collection day is.
Instructions:
Please do not place any loose batteries in your recycling box.
Acceptable batteries include:
Unacceptable batteries include:
These batteries can be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste depots for disposal at the Lindsay Ops and Fenelon landfills.
Spring
Fall
All leaf and yard waste must be set out in paper bags or neatly bundled. Plastic bags are not accepted. If the material does not fit into a paper yard waste bag or is set out on your regular waste collection day it will not be collected.
Items that are not accepted during leaf and yard collection include:
These items can be taken to a City landfill site.
Our Medical Waste Register is for residents and medical professionals who need to place more than two bags of waste at the curb each week because of in-home treatment or other medical reasons. The Register offers a supply of garbage bag tags at no cost to help manage the extra waste.
To qualify for the Medical Waste Register:
Waste Management, City of Kawartha Lakes
322 Kent Street West, PO BOX 9000,
Lindsay, Ontario, K9V 4T7.
You can also email it to waste management.
This program will only address the needs of residents undergoing medical treatment. Large families and other individuals and/or businesses who cannot meet set- out limits will not be eligible for this program.
From time to time, waste (garbage and recycling) collection can get delayed due to inclement weather and/or poor road conditions. While our waste collection partner, Miller Waste, does their best to avoid any kind of collection delay, sometimes they are unavoidable.
Visit our Waste Collection Delay page to learn:
Contact Us
Kawartha Lakes
P.O. Box 9000, 26 Francis Street
Lindsay, ON, K9V 5R8
Telephone: 705-324-9411
Toll free at 1-888-822-2225
After-hours emergencies: 1-877-885-7337
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