FAQs

All residential addresses that currently receive solid waste pickup service from the City of Prince Rupert will be served by the new curbside recycling program. Multi-family dwellings served by private waste collection contractors will not be receiving this service from the City. 

All eligible households will begin receiving curbside service beginning the week of January 1st, 2022. The collection service will collect both your garbage and recycling waste on your assigned collection day. Please note that for 2022, the collection areas and schedule have changed. You can see the updated area map and schedule at http://www.princerupert.ca/services/garbage_recycling.

The City’s curbside recycling program will collect all paper, metal, and rigid plastic consumer print and packaging materials. This includes newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes, and cartons, as well as aluminum, tin, steel, and hard plastic containers. A visual guide to the included materials and the most common excluded materials is included below.

Soft plastics (like plastic bags and overwrap material) glass, Styrofoam and hazardous materials (such as propane canisters, batteries, paint, or biological waste) will not be collected. Many of these excluded materials will continue to be accepted at the North Coast Regional District Recycling Depot. Please check https://www.ncrdbc.com/services/waste/recycling to see what materials can be accepted directly at the depot outside of the curbside pickup program.

Not sure what goes where? The City has partnered with Recycle Coach to offer residents access to their helpful schedule and sorting tools. Look at your individual collection schedule, set reminders for your pickups, or use the "What Goes Where" tool by clicking on the link to the right.

The City-provided garbage bin (120L capacity) should be large enough to accommodate the volume of garbage permitted under the Solid Waste Bylaw to be collected every week. If you have more garbage to be collected than you can fit in your bin, then you may request a larger bin with double the capacity be provided to you. Please note that additional fees will apply to your utility bill if you request a larger bin, so we recommend that all households do their best to recycle everything they can before requesting a larger bin.

If you're certain you want to get a larger bin for your household, you may request one by clicking here.

Beginning January 1st, you can use any size of bag to contain your garbage, provided it is placed in the City-provided bin. If you have requested a larger bin but have not yet received it, please put any additional garbage that can't be contained in your City-provided bin in standard sized black garbage bags, as they will need to be collected manually by the City's collectors. 

In order to receive collection, please make sure your containers are placed no more than 4 feet from the curb in front of your house, and are clearly visible to collection workers. If you receive your collection in a laneway, your containers must be easily visible and accessible at the lane.

If you believe you are entitled to receive bins from the City but have not received them, contact recycling@princerupert.ca to request that your bins be delivered. Please provide your name, telephone number and home address, and if you are eligible for curbside collection service, City staff will make arrangements with you to deliver a new set of bins to your address.

No. The City is providing single-stream collection at this time, meaning all of your eligible recyclable material will be able to be placed in the same recycling bin. However residents should make sure to only include eligible materials in their recycling bin, and be careful not to include common contaminants such as Styrofoam, glass, food waste, or plastic bags.

No. In fact, no bags will be accepted as part of curbside recyclable pickup. All recyclable material will need to be placed loose in the bin to allow for the easy removal of any ineligible or contaminated materials by City collectors.

The 240L bins are 43 ¼” (109.9cm) tall, 24 ½” (62.2cm) wide, and 27 ½” (69.9cm) deep, while the 120L bins are 37 5/8” (95.5cm) tall, 19 1/8” (48.6cm) wide, and 21 1/16” (53.5cm) deep.

Not at this time. The curbside collection program beginning in January 2022 will deal only with paper, metal and plastic print and packaging material as described above.

Beginning in January 2022, garbage will only be collected if placed within a City-provided bin. Customers who have requested a larger bin but not yet received it by their collection date may place one garbage bin for collection in addition to their City-provided bin. 

All garbage will need to be contained within a bin to be collected. Loose garbage bags will not be collected beginning January 1st, 2022.