Your guide to holiday waste disposal

Stay on Santa's nice list by putting your waste in the correct bins! Here's a guide on how to properly dispose of some popular festive items.

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins

Paper plates, paper towels and napkins go in the green bin. Place your green bin items in compostable bags, if possible, but plastic bags are also accepted. Please bag and tie securely and ensure your bins weigh less than 20.5 kilograms (45 pounds) for the safety of our waste collectors.

Fats, oils and grease

Never pour fats, oils and grease down the drain. Always let them fully cool and harden before placing them in the compost bin. You can also dispose of them at a York Region waste depot. Visit york.ca/WasteDepots for locations, fees and a complete list of accepted materials.

Food leftovers

If you have holiday leftovers, don't throw them away - food scraps are not garbage! Instead, try to eliminate food waste by:

• getting creative with leftovers by transforming them into a new meal for another day.
• planning meals so you only buy what you will eat and avoid food leftovers altogether.
• storing or freezing perishable items such as meat and produce properly so they last longer.
• placing leftover fruit and vegetable peels in the green bin. Green bin material is transformed into nutrient-rich compost that is used on farmers' fields to grow our crops.
• turning food scraps into compostto fertilize your garden - you can still compost throughout the winter!

Real Christmas tree collection

During the weeks of Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, the City of Vaughan will collect real Christmas trees in both blue and yellow zones on your scheduled collection day. For example, if you live in the yellow zone and your collection day is Wednesday, you can put your Christmas tree curbside on either Wednesday, Jan. 7 or Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Keep these set-out requirements in mind:

• Remove all tinsel, ornaments and stands from the tree.
• Do not put the tree in a plastic bag.
• Do not place the tree on the road or on top of snowbanks.
• Ensure your tree is less than two metres (seven feet) in height. Cut the tree in half if it exceeds this height.

Artificial trees are collected as garbage and must be bagged and set out on your regular collection day.

If you have broken glass ornaments, safely place the pieces in a cardboard box, seal shut and label "broken glass," and place at the curb on your garbage collection day.

Holiday collection schedule changes

There is no waste collection on Thursday, Dec. 25. Here are the holiday waste schedule changes for that week:

• Thursday, Dec. 25 collection is moved to Friday, Dec. 26.
• Friday, Dec. 26 collection is moved to Saturday, Dec. 27.

There is also no waste collection on Thursday, Jan. 1. Here are the waste schedule changes for that week:

• Thursday, Jan. 1 collection is moved to Friday, Jan. 2.
• Friday, Jan. 2 collection is moved to Saturday, Jan. 3.

Place your waste at the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 7 a.m. on the day of collection.

Think before you toss!

If you don't know where to dispose of an item, use the search function in the online 'What Goes Where?' sorting tool to check. You can also download the free Recycle Coach app from the Apple App Store or Google Playfor more sorting help. The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week.

To learn more about waste collection in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

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