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Waste from most apartments, condos, row houses and other multi-unit buildings in Edmonton is collected in large, shared on-site garbage and recycling bins.
Residents in these dwellings have now started to sort food scraps and recycling from their garbage for collection. The rollout is happening in 4 phases and began in Southeast Edmonton in 2023.
Find out when food scraps and recycling collection is coming to your building.
Reduce the number of containers needed for your property.
Stay up-to-date on the changes coming to apartment and condo collection.
WasteWise provides residents with helpful tips on waste sorting, collection schedules, notifications and more.
Use WasteWise Online
Quickly and easily learn how to sort your waste.
Download the WasteWise App
View sorting instructions, collection schedules and more.
Extra garbage collection is available for a fee and can help properties manage waste volumes:
If your bins or carts are full before collection day, requesting an additional collection may be an option.
As of July 2, 2024, there are 2 options available for properties that need additional collection:
Site decision-makers can request either Ongoing Additional Collection or Extra Collection by Request by calling Waste Customer Support at 780-496-5698.
Buildings can request extra food scraps and recycling collection at no charge, as long as there is little contamination, cardboard boxes are flattened and residents are making an effort to properly sort their waste.
The site decision-maker can call or email Waste Customer Support at 780-496-5698 or WasteSupport@edmonton.ca. They will then receive an enrolment form via email to complete and return.
This form only needs to be filled out once; it does not need to be filled out each time an extra collection is requested.
To complete the enrolment form, an EPCOR account number must be provided. In the future, anyone who can verify the EPCOR account number on file will be able to request extra collection. Waste Services recommends ensuring only site decision-makers know this number.
Individual residents should ask their site decision-maker to request extra waste collection if it is needed.
For extra collection by request:
Once you have enrolled in the program, call Waste Customer Support at 780-496-5698 when you find you need extra collection. The EPCOR account specified in the form will be charged.
For ongoing extra garbage collection:
Call Waste Customer Support at 780-496-5698 to request the ongoing extra garbage collection. City staff will contact the applicant to determine the amount of additional waste capacity required for the site and what that service will look like, such as extra or larger containers and/or increased collection frequency.
Extra garbage collection will be available for a fee.
Properties may find this service especially useful as residents learn to sort their food scraps and recycling.
Once residents are properly sorting their waste, the volume of garbage should decrease.
To enroll in the program for occasional extra collection, an EPCOR account number must be provided. This is the account that will be charged.
Most multi-unit properties should have a shared EPCOR account number, even if each unit pays for its own power and water. If a site does not have a shared EPCOR account number, they can choose to use any of the account numbers that are linked to their property or request EPCOR to create a new account number for their excess waste.
Please note: anyone who knows the account number on file can request extra collection. Waste Services recommends ensuring only site decision-makers know this number.
The primary goal of the new apartment and condo waste collection program is to reduce waste and emissions and keep useful materials out of the landfill. If unlimited extra garbage collection were provided, properties and residents would not be motivated to sort their food scraps and recycling which would undermine the purpose of the program.
By providing an additional 50% capacity, we’re able to help properties manage unexpected fluctuations in waste volumes, while maintaining the expectation that residents sort their food scraps and recyclables so they can be put to beneficial use.
This program provides a similar service to the curbside excess waste program. Customers who use that program receive a 360 litre garbage cart, which is an additional 50% capacity.
No. The same expectations will apply for extra collection as for regularly scheduled collection, meaning collection vehicles must have clear access to the containers.
Cleanup around the containers is the responsibility of the property and is required in order to avoid any service disruption. Likewise, items not accepted for collection during regular pickup will not be accepted as part of extra collections.
Some apartments and condos (mostly 4 or 5-unit complexes) will not be a part of this change, and will instead be transitioned to curbside waste collection. Each unit will have its own assigned food scraps and garbage carts, and will be responsible for setting out waste at the curb or alley on collection day.
With this transition, the monthly utility rate of those units will increase a small amount each year over a 5-year period until it aligns with the rate of other customers receiving curbside collection.
After Transition
Before Transition
In 2022, before the rollout of apartment and condo collection started, we looked at what people were putting into their building’s garbage bins.
Over half of the waste was either food scraps or recyclables. Another 16% of the waste should have gone to an Eco Station.
| Category | Average |
|---|---|
| Organics | 37% |
| Recycling | 28% |
| Eco Station Waste | 16% |
| Garbage | 20% |
The new Waste Services Bylaw (20363) helps prepare for changes to the way waste is sorted and collected at apartments and condos. Apartment and condo collection is called communal collection in the bylaw.
This bylaw mandates three-stream collection (garbage, recycling and food scraps) at all apartments and condos. This will be phased in across the City over the next 4 years.
This means that collection containers for all 3 streams of waste (garbage, recycling and food scraps) will need to be located near each other and equally accessible. This includes containers in indoor and outdoor waste collection areas. We will assist property managers and developers with this change.
