Your guide to sorting it right and 2026 recycling changes
This holiday season, don’t place your Christmas trees at the curb – take them to a City of London EnviroDepot.
Before visiting, please remove all decorations, tinsel, garland, skirts and lights from your tree. Fees apply to some items, such as bagged garbage ($2 per bag).
If you would like to wait for curbside yard waste collection in the spring, trees can be stored in your backyard during the winter – they make a great home for birds!
Looking for more ways to support our collection crews and recycling operators this holiday season? Spread some holiday cheer by following these helpful tips:
Avoid putting containers on snow banks
Help keep collection crews safe and place Green Bins, Blue Boxes and garbage containers on level ground within one metre of the curb. After a snowfall, brushing off your container lids when you set them to the curb is also appreciated. And don’t forget to wave! Operators love giving a friendly wave back to Londoners watching the truck from windows or sidewalks.
Put gift wrap and bags in the trash can
Paper items coated with plastic or foil contain coloured dyes and are not recyclable. When mixed with newsprint and other paper, they cause big problems for the paper mills.
Flatten your boxes
With the extra volume of recycling during the holidays, recycling trucks need all the space they can get! Break down, flatten, and tie your cardboard into bundles no larger than 75cm x 75cm x 30cm (around the size of a large storage box), or stack them flattened in your paper blue bin. Oversized cardboard may be dropped off at an EnviroDepot for no charge.
Avoid “wishcycling”
Just because you “wish” you could recycle something, doesn’t mean you can. Here are some items that should stay out of the Blue Box:
- Clementine boxes
- Ribbons, bows, and decorations
- Plastic toys
- Styrofoam™ and bubble wrap
- Paper napkins, towels, and soiled paper plates (these items can go in your Green Bin or home composter unit instead!)
Avoid Green Bin materials freezing to the inside of the bin this winter
- Drain excess liquids from food scraps before placing them into the Green Bin
- Line the bottom of your Green Bin with a layer of soiled cardboard, newspaper or an egg carton
- Set your Green Bin materials out for collection in the morning, rather than the night before, to reduce the risk of exposure to freezing temperatures
Put fats, oils, and grease (FOG) in the right place
As you clean up from your holiday meal, avoid pouring fats, oils and grease – like gravy and cooking oil – down the sink or toilet. FOG can block sewer pipes and cause major issues.
Instead, discard of your FOG directly into your Green Bin. To reduce odours and liquids, you can add a compostable line, newspaper, or a paper product to your Green Bin to absorb the material.
You can also use a City of London FOG Cup. Keep FOG in the cup, and when the cup is full, it can be returned to an EnviroDepot where it will be used to generate green energy. One full FOG cup can be turned into enough energy to power a refrigerator for a day. Free FOG Cups (limit 2 per household per visit) can be picked up at the City’s EnviroDepots and London Public Libraries.
Alternatively, you can collect FOG in a disposable container, such as a coffee cup, and place it in the garbage. Only City of London FOG cups are permitted in the Green Bin.
Download the Recycle Coach app to help answer what goes where in our recycling program.
Recycle Coach also includes personalized collection calendars, information on London’s recycling program, and collection reminders all accessible from your phone or device.
Recycling in the new year
Starting January 1, 2026, there will be a province-wide transition to shift the responsibility of recycling collection from cities to producers. This means recycling collection in London will no longer be managed by the City and will instead managed by Circular Materials. Miller Waste will remain the contractor collecting recycling from the curb.
With this transition there are minimal changes for Londoners – the recycling collection dates in the 2025-2026 Waste Collection Schedule will remain the same, and Londoners will continue to separate recyclables at the curb (paper and containers). However, more items will be accepted in your Blue Boxes in the new year, such as:
- Paper gift wrap and gift bags, which belong in the Paper Blue Box
- Plastic gift wrap and gift bags, which belong in the Containers Blue Box
- Flexible plastic packaging, like plastic bags and overwrap from paper towels, toilet paper and beverage cases
- Foam packaging, like meat trays, takeout containers, cups, plates and bowls
- Tubes, such as toothpaste, deodorant and hand creams
View the full list of recyclable items accepted in 2026
Recycling questions and concerns can be answered by Miller Waste via email at Area24@millerwaste.ca or by phone at 1-888-852-2376.