Waste Collection by Property Type

Single family homes are eligible for regular waste collection services:

• Organics: every week
• Recyclables: every two weeks, alternating with garbage collection
• Garbage: every two weeks, alternating with recyclables collection

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.