Don’t let windy weather litter your neighbourhood

Whitby, Ontario - The Regional Municipality of Durham would like to remind residents and businesses to help reduce litter in the community on waste collection days. Recyclables set out at the curb for Blue Box collection, including containers and paper materials, can blow away during windy weather if not set out correctly. Leaving blue box litter in your neighbourhood, parks, and along the streets is detrimental to the environment and safety of the community.  

Follow these tips to help keep waste at the curb, rather than becoming neighbourhood litter:

• On windy days, if you only have a few recyclables, consider waiting until your next collection day to set out your blue boxes; it may not be as windy. Remember, recyclable materials are collected weekly in Durham Region.

• Place recyclables at the curb by 7 a.m. on the morning of collection day, not the night before.
• Place papers and cardboard vertically (upright) in your blue box, instead of horizontally (flat). This will reduce the chances of the wind picking them up. Or bundle cardboard separately. These bundles can act as a "lid" for your blue box.
• Loose or shredded paper can be placed inside boxboard, such as cereal boxes.
• Crush your cans and place in your containers blue box along with glass bottles.
• On days that are not windy, set your blue boxes out for collection even if they are not full. This will reduce the chance of them being overfull next week.
• Don’t overfill blue boxes. Keep material below the rim. You can purchase additional boxes at the Bowmanville Household Special Waste Depot.

The Region of Durham is ensuring that our services identified as essential by the Province of Ontario, including waste management, continue to be provided safely to protect the environment and the public.

More information about waste is available by visiting durham.ca/waste, emailing waste@durham.ca, calling 1-800-667-5671 or downloading the Durham Region Waste App. 

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For more information, contact Corporate Communications.