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1. Can I opt out of the pick-up program?

All eligible residents are required by bylaw to participate in the pick-up program and can't opt out. This ensures that costs per household are kept as low as possible and broad participation is encouraged. 

2. Why wasn't my recycling/garbage collected?

If your tote is not collected on your scheduled pickup day, please revisit the guidelines for a successful pickup to ensure that you are correctly placing your materials at the curb. The most common issues are:

     a. Incorrect spacing. Please space totes 1m apart from other totes and surrounding objects such as cars, telephone poles, and utility boxes.

     b. An overfilled tote. Totes cannot be collected correctly if they are overfilled or have materials placed on their lids, which fall out and litter the roadway when tipped.

     c. Totes facing the wrong direction. These totes can be rejected as they pose a safety concern when contents are tipped into the collection truck 

Have a yellow "oops" or red "we left" sticker on your collection tote? The CVRD reserves the right to refuse the collection of any materials that do not belong in the curbside recycling program. Call the Recycling Hotline at 250.746.2540 or 1.800.665.3955 for more information.

For up-to-date information about missed collections due to mechanical failures or weather-related disruptions, subscribe to CVRD newsflashes (sign up here), download the Cowichan Recycles app or visit the CVRD Facebook page.

3. I just moved. How do I get my recycling and garbage picked up?

If you are moving into an existing single family home in an Electoral Area, you will already be included in the pick-up program and totes should have been left at your property by the previous owner.

Find your pick-up schedule online.

4. Where can I get my recycling or garbage pick-up schedule?

CVRD Electoral Area residents can access their collection schedules here. To get reminders via text or email, download the Cowichan Recycles app (Google Play Store download, Apple App Store download).

North Cowichan, City of Duncan, Town of Ladysmith, and Town of Lake Cowichan residents should contact their municipalities for pick-up schedules. To find out which Area / Municipality you are in, click here.

Find your pick-up schedule

5. What can I put in the blue recycling tote?

The curbside blue recycling tote is for household packaging and paper. All paper including newspaper, flyers, magazines and catalogues are accepted, as well as cereal boxes and cardboard (must fit loosely in the tote with the lid closed).  Household plastic containers such as for laundry detergent or food, milk jugs and containers, and pails under 5 gallons (18 litre) are accepted,  Tetra paks, paper coffee cups, empty aerosol cans, nursery plant pots and seedling trays are all accepted. All material must be rinsed clean. For more information, see the Recycling webpage.

Check out the Curbside Recycling Guide

6. Why can't I put glass and film plastic in the blue recycling tote?

Glass, styrofoam, and film plastic must be handled differently than other recyclables to avoid contamination and damage to recycling processing machinery. 

Glass and styrofoam break into unrecoverable pieces during curbside collection, contaminating the load and, in the case of glass, posing health and safety issues for workers. 

Plastic bags and other film plastic must be handled separately from other recyclable materials because it gets wrapped up in the sorting equipment, causing lengthy delays and equipment failures. Also, when plastic film is mixed with other materials during collection, pieces of the other recyclables (paper, food containers) get wrapped up in the plastic; it is difficult to  separate the recyclables from the plastic film, resulting in unrecyclable material.

7. I just built a house. How do I get my recycling and garbage picked up?

If you've built a new house in an Electoral Area, you will automatically be put on the pick-up program. New totes will be sent to your home about 2 months after your insulation inspection is completed. You will get a standard 240L blue tote for recycling. If you live in an area that receives garbage pick-up from the CVRD, you will also get a 132L black tote for garbage. Different tote sizes can be requested in advance by calling the Recycling Hotline at (250) 746-2540 or emailing curbside@cvrd.bc.ca. Annual billing will begin upon substantial completion of your insulation inspection.

8. How is the curbside collection program funded?

The program is paid for by user fees and no taxes are used.

Curbside Collection Budget