Curbside Collection Changes: Dec/Jan

Christmas Day: Garbage Collection (Porter Creek, Crestview) is moved to Friday, December 27.

Christmas Day: Recycling Collection (Zone 6 – Porter Creek North, Crestview) is moved to Monday, December 23.

New Year’s Day: Organics Collection (Porter Creek, Crestview) is moved to Friday, January 3.

New Year’s Day: Recycling Collection (Zone 2 – Porter Creek South, Hillcrest) is moved to Monday, December 30.

Christmas Trees: The City is no longer providing curbside Christmas tree pick-up. This reduces solid waste operating expenses which in turn helps keep rates lower. Residents can drop off their Christmas trees at the Waste Management Facility for free during the month of January. Please remove all ornaments and lights before disposing of your tree.

Recycling

Curbside Recycling Collection officially began on December 3, 2024 for eligible households! This service includes the collection of mixed paper and mixed containers. Check out our Curbside Recycling Guide for a list of accepted materials.

If your household is eligible for Curbside Recycling (i.e., you have a black cart for garbage and a green cart for compost) but did not receive a set of blue bins and yellow bags, or if you’re missing a bin or bag, please email [email protected] or call 687-1615. The yellow bags and recycling guides arrive sandwiched between the blue bins, so be sure to take the two bins apart!

Please bring household hazardous waste to the Waste Management Facility on Saturdays between 9 am and 4 pm.

Please bring electronic waste, glass, metals, batteries, textiles and refundable beverage containers to Raven ReCentre.

Flexible/soft plastics and styrofoam are not recyclable and should be placed with your general waste.

Residential Curbside Recycling Schedule

Click here to download your Residential Curbside Recycling Schedule.

This schedule only includes curbside collection of recycling. For the waste and organics (green and black cart) collection schedule, click here. The 2025 waste and organics collection schedule will be available soon. Stay tuned!

Curbside Recycling Zones

Zone 1 – Tuesday
Takhini, Marwell and Downtown

Zone 2 – Wednesday
Hillcrest and Porter Creek South
Including all homes on 12th Ave and homes on Hickory, Tamarack, Teak, Juniper, Evergreen, Chestnut, Mulberry and Rosewood (see Porter Creek zone map)

Zone 3 – Thursday
Riverdale North
Including Alsek Rd from Lewes Blvd to Lewes Blvd (see Riverdale zone map)

Zone 4 – Friday
Copper Ridge

Collection Service on Alternate Week

Zone 5 – Tuesday
Valleyview, Arkell, Granger, Ingram and Logan

Zone 6 – Wednesday
Crestview and Porter Creek North
Inclusive of all homes north of 12th Ave. Including homes on Birch, Alder, 15th Ave West, 17th Ave West and MacKenzie Court (see Porter Creek zone map)

Zone 7 – Thursday
Riverdale South, Wickstrom Rd and Long Lake Rd
Including Alsek Rd from Lewes Blvd and homes on Pelly, Tay and Hyland (see Riverdale zone map)

Zone 8 – Friday
Whistle Bend

Contact: [email protected]
(867) 687-1615

Click here to download the new Curbside Recycling How-to Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do with my recycling now that Raven ReCentre has closed its drop-off?

Non-refundables: There is a new, temporary Recycling Depot is now open at the Waste Management Facility (Mile 919.72 on the Alaska Highway, which is 3.5 km north of the Two Mile Hill and Alaska Highway intersection). The drop-off fee is $1 per bag, container, or equivalent up to 90 litres in volume.

Refundables: If you want to receive money for your refundables (e.g., bottles, cans, milk jugs, etc.) you can take them to a private Beverage Container Depot (e.g., P&M Recycling, Raven ReCentre).

What is the cost to recycle?

At the City’s Recycling Depot, the drop-off fee is $1 per 90 litre bag or equivalent size container.

Residences that are eligible for Curbside Collection will be charged $12.50 per month for the service. The total cost to provide the service is $25 per month, with half of the cost covered by funding from the Government of Yukon.

Why do we have to pay for recycling now?

Dealing with recycling was never “free”. It has always cost money to collect, process and transport to southern markets. Existing recycling depots (e.g., Raven ReCentre and P&M recycling) have received subsidies from the City of Whitehorse and the Government of Yukon to cover some of the costs of processing recycling. The City is working hard to ensure recycling services are as affordable as possible for residents.

As per the City’s Waste Management Bylaw (2018-05), waste services are provided on a cost-recovery basis, which means that fees need to be collected from users – i.e., residents – to cover the cost of the service. This is why you pay a fee to take garbage to the landfill, or pay for curbside waste pickup as part of your municipal services bill. Waste services fees are not paid through taxes or when you purchase a product. Unless it is part of the refundable program, for which you can receive money back if you bring them to a Beverage Container Depot.

Why isn’t the money from diversion credits used to cover recycling costs?

The vast majority of diversion credits that went to private recycling services came from the Government of Yukon. The Government of Yukon is subsidizing the City’s new curbside recycling program, reducing the cost for individual households from $25 per month to $12.50 per month.

The City of Whitehorse has a diversion credit program of $150,000 per year that is distributed to recycling processors on a quarterly basis.  This program is still in existence and supports local recycling organizations.

Why are households of larger sizes being charged the same as smaller sized households?

While the quantity of material may differ from residence to residence depending on the occupancy, the cost is determined by operating a curbside collection service to all eligible residences. It would be nearly impossible to determine costs of collection service per household based on occupancy of a residence.

Did the City take into account the storage space for the blue bins when developing this program?

Yes, space to store and sort recycling was one of the reasons why the City chose to use stackable blue bins for this curbside recycling program and not an additional 240L cart.

How will I know if I will receive curbside recycling collection?

If you are currently receiving Curbside Collection – i.e., you have a black cart for garbage and a green cart for compost – you will have received two blue bins and two yellow bags for Curbside Recycling Collection. Find the Residential Curbside Recycling Schedule here and the Curbside Recycling Guide here.

Can I opt out of curbside recycling?

No. If you are currently eligible for Curbside Collection – i.e., you have a black cart for garbage and a green cart for compost – then you will automatically receive curbside recycling service. Curbside recycling collection (just like black and green cart collection) is a mandatory service.

I need a new blue bin and/or yellow bag. How do I get one?

If your blue bins or yellow bags are damaged and need replacing, please reach out to [email protected] to request new ones.

I'm concerned about the open blue bins—won't animals get into them and make a mess? Won't the wind blow materials all over the street?
To avoid temping critters, we recommend rinsing recyclables before placing them in your bin and only setting your bin and bags out on the curb the morning of collection day. Placing a board or similar item on top of your blue bins on windy days could help keep everything in place, but that’s totally up to you!
I have more recycling than will fit in the blue bins/yellow bags. Can I put the overflow in a recycling bag?

For extra mixed containers, please use similar-sized box or bin.

For mixed paper or cardboard overflow, neatly stack excess next to, between, or underneath your other recycling.

Please don’t use bags, soft plastics cannot be recycled.

Will I get new yellow bags each week to hold mixed paper recycling?
No, the yellow bags are reusable! Once your recycling is collected each week, your yellow bags will be returned to you.
They are pretty sturdy and will last quite a while, however if you need a replacement, please email [email protected] to request a new one.
Will recycling be collected on the same days as my green and/or black cart? Why aren't the collection days synchronized?

Not necessarily—please check the Recycling Collection Calendar to see when curbside pickup is in your area.

Curbside recycling pickup is a separate service from waste and organics pick up. We have attempted to synchronize recycling pickup with existing collections as much as possible, but these are separate programs with different collection methods, so we’ve had to break up some of the larger neighbourhoods and adjust the schedule to accommodate this.

I live in a multi-unit condo/apartment building. Will we get curbside recycling?

No, curbside recycling is only available for residences that are currently receiving our Curbside Collection service.

Multi-unit dwellings can drop off recycling at the Recycling Depot at the Waste Management Facility, or use a private recycling collection service.

Can small businesses use the new recycling depot?

Yes, small businesses can use the new Recycling Depot at the Waste Management Facility.

Here “small business” means a business that uses a similar quantity and type of materials in the (packaging and paper products) as a single-family residential household. This definition is consistent with the definition used by the Yukon’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation. Find more about EPR here.

How much recycling can a small business bring to the Recycling Depot?

On any given trip to the depot, a small business is allowed to bring a similar quantity and type of materials in the (packaging and paper products) as a single-family residential household. On average, this would equal four 90 litre bags or approximately half of a pick-up truck.

Can commercial businesses use the new recycling depot?

Larger commercial businesses are not eligible to use this service and need to use private recycling services, similar to how the City of Whitehorse does not provide waste services to commercial businesses.

The City’s Recycling Depot

Our Recycling Depot is located at the Waste Management Facility. Country-residential and multi-family residences, as well as small businesses can use the Recycling Depot.

Residents can drop off non-refundable recycling for $1 per bag/container (maximum 90 litres per bag/container).

Click here to view the Recycling Sorting Guide for the depot.

Waste Management Facility Hours
Monday to Friday: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
Weekends: 9 am to 5:30 pm
Closed: Good Friday, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day