Waste Collection by Property Type

Eligible townhome complexes have the option to join the City’s waste collection program.

Applying for the City's waste collection program

If a townhome complex requests to join the City’s waste collection program:

• We check the internal roadway of the townhome complex with our waste collection contractor.
• The road must allow for the safe maneuverability of fully-automated waste collection vehicles.
• If the site is deemed safe and feasible, collection services for the complex can proceed.

If the complex is approved for service

• Each unit will have door-to-door service, meaning they will receive their own set of carts.
• An annual charge for City Waste Collection Service is applied to your property tax.

If the complex is not approved

• The complex can opt for private service.
• They can opt into the City's Centralized Collection Program for recycling and organics. This does not include garbage. See Apartment (Centralized Collection Program) for more information.
• The complex will only be charged for the City collection services they proceed with.

Contact your strata or property manager to find out if you are on City waste collection services.

Garbage collection in apartment complexes

The City does not offer garbage collection to apartments due to the unique requirements of each building. This service must be arranged through a private hauler.

Centralized Collection Program

The City offers centralized recycling and organics collection to apartment complexes. Townhouse complexes can also apply for this service.

Carts are serviced from a centralized location in the complex (garbage room or recycling area). Service includes:

• Weekly recycling and organics collection service
• Organic waste carts that will be situated next to your recycling carts at your building
• One 7 L kitchen catcher per apartment unit
• Cart cleaning services and educational material
• Program administration and customer service
• Waste Diversion Guides for each apartment unit

For every 50 units in the complex, we recommend 3 recycling carts and 1 organics cart.

Cardboard

Cardboard is accepted in our recycling carts but must be broken down into the size of a pizza box (2 feet by 2 feet. Anything larger than that will be left behind. Larger pieces of cardboard gets stuck in the truck's hopper.

If your building has rental units, we suggest arranging for a private hauler to collect cardboard.

Large item pickup for apartments

The City also provides large item pickup service (4 items per unit per year) to apartments that receive City recycling collection. Contact your strata for more information on how to schedule an item for pickup.

Resources

• Waste Diversion Guide for Apartment Building Residents
• Poster: What Goes In: Organics
• Poster: What Goes In: Recycling

The City provides waste collection services to some homes in the Agricultural Land Reserve. This service is for residential purposes only (no agricultural, commercial or industrial waste) and can only be offered if:

• Your home is near an existing City waste collection route
• All homes on your street agree to opt into City collection services
• Your street is suitable for the City's automated collection vehicles
• There is sufficient space for carts to be placed in front of your address
• There are no safety concerns

If service is not approved by the City, you can arrange garbage collection through private services, or self transport your materials to a Metro Vancouver Recycling and Waste Centre.

It is the homeowner's responsibility to ensure that tenants are sorting waste correctly. 

All properties paying a secondary suite garbage charge can upsize to a 360L garbage cart. Call 604-590-7289 for a cart exchange if you do not have a 360L garbage cart.

Tenants

Contact the property owner to discuss waste collection options. The property owner can:

• Change cart sizes or order replacement carts
• Organize large item pickups

The City of Surrey does not provide waste collection services to commercial, industrial or institutional properties. These property types may hire a private hauler for collection services. Food scraps and recycling must be separated from the garbage, as per Metro Vancouver's disposal ban. 

• Depending on what the previous owner ordered, you may be paying for more garbage than you need.
• Additional garbage carts and the largest (360L) garbage carts increase your property taxes
• You should have at least one cart of each type (garbage, recycling, and organics).
• If any carts are missing, call us at 604-590-7289 to report it.
• If you wish to downsize or upsize your carts, or add/remove additional carts, call us at 604-590-7289. Fees apply.
• Fees apply for delivery of new or replacement carts.

• Check your Property Taxes for any additional fees such as "Garbage - additional".
• Make sure the fees on your statement align with the number of garbage carts that you have.

• Learn what goes in each cart.
• See the collection schedule to find out what day to place your carts out.
• Download our Rethink Waste app to receive reminders and help you sort waste correctly
• Find a secure location to store your carts on your property. Fees apply to replace stolen or missing carts.
• Keep your carts clean by rinsing food containers before placing them in the recycling cart, and by wrapping your food scraps in newspaper, paper towel or paper bags before placing them in the organics cart.