Sorting Waste & Recycling

Contaminated carts

Only certain materials are accepted in Surrey's recycling carts. Placing unacceptable materials in your recycling cart:

• pollutes Surrey’s recycling stream
• results in recycling being sent to the landfill
• creates more risks for workers
• can result in the City facing fines that might affect the annual waste collection fees for everyone.

We check individual recycling carts for unacceptable items which can cause contamination. To ensure pick-up, only place acceptable materials in your recycling cart. If your cart is contaminated with unacceptable materials, it might not be picked up.

With your help, we can reduce the waste we send to landfills and reduce our impact on our environment. 

Learn what is accepted in your carts below.

Recycling cart

Accepted items that can go in the City of Surrey’s blue carts:

• Paper (newspaper, flyers, magazines, envelopes) but no books
• Cartons (milk, juice, ice cream)
• Cardboard (flattened)
• Plastic clamshells (for muffins, berries, pre-packaged meals, etc.)
• Plastic food storage containers (Tupperware, etc.)
• Plastic bottles (water, pop, etc.)
• Plastic tubs/containers (yoghurt, ice cream, laundry detergent)
• Plastic jars (jams, sauces, soaps, etc.)
• Plastic jugs (milk, water, juice)
• Tin cans (tuna, tomatoes, lentils) 
• Empty aerosol spray cans 

Not on the list? Use our Waste Wizard tool or download our app.

Items not accepted and how to sort them correctly:

Recycling depot or Central Surrey Recycling and Waste Centre

• Plastic bags
• Styrofoam
• Film plastics (Ziplock bags, overwrap on paper towels, etc.)
• Batteries
• Candy wrappers, chips bags
• Electronics or small appliances (toasters, fans, cables, extension cords, etc.)
• Glass jars
• Propane canisters
• Scrap metal in poor condition (pots and pans, kettle, clothes hangers, etc.)
• Lighting products (light bulbs, light fixtures, string lights)

Reuse, donate or sell

• Books
• Clothing in good condition
• Scrap metal in good condition (pots and pans, kettle, clothes hangers, etc.)

Garbage

• Clothing in poor condition
• Garden hoses
• Personal hygiene products

Is the item you are looking for not on the list? Use our Waste Wizard, or download our app for more options.

Organic cart

Acceptable items

• Yard waste 
• Food waste (small amount of cooking oil*, tea bags, and coffee grounds)

Larger amounts of cooking oil can be taken to the Central Surrey Recycling and Waste Centre for free disposal. 

Non-acceptable items

• Pet waste
• Diapers
• Plastic bags
• Milk jugs

Another way to reduce waste is to compost organic material. 

Garbage cart

Only waste that cannot be recycled or composted goes in your garbage:

• Broken glassware
• Broken toys
• Diapers
• Garden hoses