Recycling Tips

Recycling Wheel Kits

The City of Orillia now has available wheel kits with a pull cord that can be installed on your recycling box to allow you to roll it to the curb without having to lift it.  The wheel kits are only $10 each (HST included) and fit right into your existing recycling box.  They can be purchased at the City's Waste Diversion Site located at 100 Kitchener Street. Please visit the Household Hazardous Waste Depot to pick up a set.

Be a Good Neighbour - Volunteer!

The good neighbour program encourages residents to be more aware of the needs of their neighbours - being seniors or those with physical disabilities - by providing assistance in bringing out and taking in their neighbour's recycling, garbage and green bin. Are you a high school student looking to fulfill your volunteer hours? Perhaps this could be the opportunity you are looking for.  Visit your school's guidance office to pick up a form to record these hours and to learn more.

Do You Have Too Much Recycling?

To ensure the ease of bringing your recycling to the curb on weeks where materials are in excess, the City of Orillia offers additional recycling boxes (large or small) for sale at the Waste Diversion Site for $5 each (HST included).

Bathroom items that can be recycled:

Your bathroom is full of recyclable items that tend to get tossed in the trash.  Here are four simple steps to help you recycle in the bathroom:

1. Know what to recycle (see above).
2. Set up a container to collect recyclables separately or use divided waste baskets to keep waste and recyclables separate. 
3. Rinse bottles and fold cardboard to maximize space.
4. If needed, place a framed reminder on the vanity to recycle. 

 Also note that soiled tissue paper can go in your GREEN BIN with food scraps.

 The next time you empty a bottle or open a new box in the bathroom, give your waste a new life.  Recycle! 

Economical

Tap water is significantly cheaper than bottled water. A litre of tap water costs tenths of a cent while, on average, a 500 mL bottle of water can cost eight cents when buying in bulk or as much as $2.50 from a vending machine. Consider 90% of the cost of bottled water is for packaging, shipping and marketing rather than the water itself. It makes more financial sense to buy a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water. 

Safe

Municipal tap water is regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that has strict regulations for treatment, distribution and testing of drinking water.

Bottled water is regulated under the Food and Drug Act. As it is looked upon as a food, sampling requirements are not as strict. Labels on bottled water that are not spring or mineral water do not have to specify the source of water which could in fact be from a municipal water supply.

Better for the Environment

Tap water is transported from the municipal water treatment supply and travels less than 10km to you. There is no packaging required to deliver tap water to you. 

While water bottles are accepted in Orillia’s recycling program, some bottles still end up in the garbage if they are not sorted and go to landfill. What does end up at the landfill takes hundreds of years to decompose. Other environmental issues to consider are the resources it takes to extract the water, to transport and distribute to you.  In addition, water resources are wasted when up to three times as much water is used than necessary to fill a bottle.

Some local charities that accept donations include (please call ahead to learn about COVID restrictions):

• Salvation Army Thrift Store - 55 Wyandotte St. (705-326-6550)
• Value Village - 8000 Highway 12 (705-327-8288)
• Green Again for New Beginnings - 33 Mississauga St. E. (705-325-0686) - accepts women's/men's/children's clothing that is clean and gently used
• The Lighthouse - 75 Queen St. E. (705-329-2265) - accepts men's clothing, twin size bed linens, towels, etc.
• Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - 461 West St. N (705-325-1304) - accepts old blankets, towels and linens

Other charities like the Canadian Diabetes Association (1-800-226-8464), Kidney Clothes (1-800-414-3484) and Community Living Ontario (1-800-278-8025) will pick up your used clothing. Please call ahead if you are unsure of what is accepted. 

• Appliances - Look under "Appliances - Major-Sales & Service"
• Bicycles - Look under "Bicycle Dealers-Sales & Service"
• Furniture - Look under "Furniture Repairing, Refinishing & Stripping"
• Vacuum Cleaners - Look under "Vacuum Cleaners-Household Sales & Service"
• Audio - Look under "Stereo Equipment-Sales & Service"
• Televisions - Look under "Television-Sales & Service"
• Computers - Look under "Computer Sales & Service"
• Clocks - Look under "Clocks-Repair"
• Watches - Look under "Watches-Repair"

To prevent fluorescent tubes from breaking while being transported to the Depot, be sure to wrap them securely with newspaper and tape over the newspaper (do not put tape directly on tubes), or else fasten them together with elastic bands.

In addition to diverting glass, this recycling program reduces mercury going into our landfill site. 

Please place furnace filters in the garbage. They are made up of various intertwined materials and are not accepted in the City's recycling program. Please note that if you fully remove the boxboard perimeter of the filter from the filter mesh, the boxboard can go in the recycling box for paper, but not the filter or the wire mesh.

Diapers currently account for almost 8% of collected waste in Orillia. That is the same weight as about 180 cars. When you choose to use cloth diapers, you are making a positive choice for the earth. Here are just a few of the environmental benefits of cloth: Depending on the fabric used, cloth diapers can be reused from 50-200 times before being recycled into rags. Cloth diapers can take less than 1 year to decompose; versus disposable diapers, which take about 500 years to decompose. Using cloth means that baby's waste goes into the sewer system to be properly processed; not into a landfill where it can seep bacteria into our soil and groundwater. When cared for properly, cloth diapers can be reused hundreds of times, and even passed onto younger siblings, making them a cost effective choice as well.

Visit the Parenting By Nature Boutique at 15 Cedar Pointe Drive, Unit 4 in Barrie, or search online at www.bynature.ca

Adult Diapers - Visit Babykins at www.babykins.com

Although the products may claim to be flushable, please do not flush diapers or diaper inserts down the toilet. They can clog sewers and damage pumping station equipment, which can lead to sewer back-ups. 

When diapers are placed out separately in clear plastic bags in Orillia, they do not require a garbage tag for collection. Maximum weight per bag is 20 kg (44 lb).

Did you know that pet waste accounts for approximately 16% of collected waste in Orillia and is currently not accepted in Orillia's green bins?  That is the same weight as about 380 cars. Here are some tips on how you can reduce pet waste going to Orillia's landfill: Home Digesters - Several products are on the market priced in the range of $100 to $150 including: 'Doggie Dooley' (www.doggiedooley.com) - This is an underground special backyard composter that works like a small septic tank. Activator powder (containing enzymes) is needed to help maintain the composting process. 'Bokashi Pet Cycle' (www.bokashicycle.com) - This product uses fermentation (pickling) of pet waste and an activator in a sealed container excluding oxygen to kill pathogens. It produces a nutrient-rich solution for plants. A separate backyard composter could be used for pet waste, however, the end product cannot be used on vegetable gardens or near anything that will be eaten.  The compost can be placed on trees and flowers as long as proper gloves are worn and children and pets are kept away from freshly fertilized beds in case there are remaining pathogens like heartworms and salmonella.

Pet waste including cat litter and bedding material should not be flushed down the toilet. Cat litter contains clay particles that clog sewers and damage pumping station equipment, which can lead to sewer back-ups.

Residents are encouraged to participate in this deposit-return program. Not only will it help increase and improve recycling rates, especially for glass bottles, there will also be more space inside your recycling box for other items. Visit bagitback.ca for more information.

Mattresses and box springs are accepted from businesses and residents of Orillia at the Waste Diversion Site located at 100 Kitchener Street in Orillia for a fee.   Mattresses are sent off-site to be recycled.

Please note; if you suspect or have confirmed that the mattresses and box springs you are dropping off contain bed bugs, please inform Waste Diversion Site staff at the Scalehouse. For the protection of our workers, please wrap bed bug infested mattresses and box springs in a plastic liner or bag.

Full or partially full paint cans and aerosol paint cans should NOT be put in the Recycling Box NOR thrown in the garbage.  Residents can take these items to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot at the Waste Diversion Site, where the paint will be sent for recycling.  There is no charge for drop off.

Plastics – What Can Be Recycled?

Although all of the seven different types of plastics can be recycled, some are very difficult or expensive to recycle because they are made up of a variety of plastic materials and/or non-plastic materials. Municipal recycling programs generally accept plastics that can reasonably be sorted into like items and have a stable market to sell the sorted plastics for recycling into new products.  Over the past decade, more products have been placed within lower-value plastic packaging leading to a large increase in plastics having to be managed in municipal recycling programs and increased recycling program costs.

Setting out only plastics accepted in the City or Orillia’s recycling program helps to keep recycling costs as low as possible. Orillia’s recycling program accepts the following sorted plastics in your recycling box for containers:

The following items are not accepted in Orillia’s curbside recycling box program for the reasons noted:

• Single Serve Coffee Pods – Contains coffee grounds and non-plastic materials
• Toys/electronics – Made of a variety of plastics and non-plastic materials
• Chip and snack bags – Made of plastic and non-plastic materials
• Stretch wrap/Cereal liners – No recycling market
• Coffee cup lids – Hard to sort given their small size
• Bubble wrap – Too bulky and can contain tape
• Meat/cheese wrapping – No market; Soiled with food debris
• Picture frames/hoses/carpet/trim-moulding/diapers - No recycling market

If any of these non-acceptable items are placed in your recycling boxes, they will lower the quality of the City’s recycling stream leading to higher recycling program costs. This is because they go to landfill as they are considered residue. Recycling markets have become much more stringent about the quality of the recycling materials they accept.

Plastic flower pots are not accepted in Orillia's Recycling Box Program, however, they can be recycled elsewhere.  First, please check to see if you can return them to the Garden Centre you purchased the plants at. Residents of Orillia can also bring empty and clean plastic flower pots numbered 2 and 5 only to the Waste Diversion Site's Household Hazardous Waste Depot for recycling. No charges apply if the flower pots are properly sorted into 2's and 5's. Limits may apply. Please no clay pots - plastic pots only. Orillia residents only.  Businesses and Township residents are not permitted to drop off flower pots.

• Use reusable Christmas bags for gifts
• Use newspaper or comics to wrap gifts
• Wrap gifts in tea towels, blankets, fabric, scarves or tins
• Save wrapping paper, ribbons and bows from this year to use for next Christmas
• Save Christmas cards from this year to use as tags next year
• Reduce the number of cards you send by e-mailing or calling those casual business acquaintances                                     
• Give gifts that are durable and that people really need
• Give gift certificates for a service (babysitting, massages, snow shovelling) or tickets to a local event (support community events)
• Give gifts with the environment or wildlife in mind (e.g. bird feeders and seed)
• Avoid gifts that are over-packaged
• Avoid over-shopping for food that may go to waste
• Don't use disposable dishes

1. Use your green bin for food scraps. You can now include dairy products, cooked meat and bones.

2. Use a rigid garbage container to store your garbage. Maximum weight is 20 kg or 44 lbs for set-out.

3. Bring bagged diapers or tagged garbage directly to the Waste Diversion Site at 100 Kitchener St. for free drop-off. 

4. Compost your pet waste in a separate backyard composter.

The City is part of the Ontario Tire Stewardship program, which ensures that the tires are recycled responsibly into new products such patio tiles, playground surfaces, rubberized asphalt, and rubber mulch. When you buy a new tire in Ontario, you pay a fee that covers the cost to recycle your old tire.

Visit the Ontario Tire Stewardship website to find the drop off location nearest you.

Leave unwanted but still useful household items at the curb after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of the event weekend and remember to remove all uncollected items by Sunday at 11:00 p.m. (Note:  Residents who fail to remove uncollected "treasures" from the curb will be subject to fines pursuant to Chapter 877 of the City of Orillia Municipal Code - Solid Waste Management). Take items placed at the curb only.  Do not take any items from the lawn. All treasures are claimed in an "as is" condition.

Treasure Hunters: -Take items placed at the curb only. -Do not take any items from the lawn. -All treasures are claimed in an "as is" condition.

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Batteries should not be thrown out with your regular as they contain heavy metals and corrosive material that can leach into the ground. Spent household batteries (AA, AAA, D, button, etc.) and rechargeable batteries can be recycled at the numerous locations in and around Orillia at no charge. Please visit call2recyle.ca to find a location near you.

Hint:  Save your spent household batteries in a small container until you have enough to make a trip to one of these locations for recycling. Whenever possible, try using rechargeable or solar operated batteries instead.

Curbside Battery Collection

On the week following the change to Daylight Savings Time in November residents can set out spent household batteries (AA, AAA, D, button batteries, etc.) in sealed clear plastic bags (such as a Ziploc bag) and place it on top of your recycling box for paper. They will be picked up on your regular collection day and sent for recycling.

Residents are encouraged to replace batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms when you change your clocks ahead or behind.

Please note the curbside battery collection program does not include businesses and apartments that set out large roll-out carts.

Please be aware that coloured wrapping paper (gift wrap) can be recycled with newspaper in the City of Orillia's recycling program. Wrapping paper (including tissue paper) may be placed with your regular mixed paper Recycling Box (newspapers, flyers, magazines, etc.) for setout. Larger amounts can be placed in clear plastic bags for setout. Please do not include foil wrap (i.e., foil coated paper), waxed paper, soiled paper, facial tissues, or paper towels. Soiled paper, facial tissues, and paper towels (free of hygiene products) can be included in your green bin.

Although wrapping paper is now recyclable, below are some suggestions on how you can reduce your gift wrapping waste:

• Give gifts in bags, boxes, and tins that can be reused for many years.
• Save wrapping paper, ribbons and bows to use again.
• Avoid gifts that are over-packaged if alternatives exist.
• Create your own wrapping paper by reusing paper products such as newspapers or comics.
• Consider giving gifts that require little to no wrapping, such as gift certificates, concert tickets, memberships, etc.