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Garbage, Recycling & Green Can

Collections are done in three parts:

  • Green Can: every week, by Emterra Environmental
  • Recyclables: every week, by RecycleBC 
  • Garbage: every two weeks, by Emterra Environmental

Learn more about when carts are collected, what goes in the cart, and how to schedule a large item pickup. Download your 2024 Residential Waste Collection Guide and your 2024 Recycling Guide

Please visibly place your garbage cans/bags at the curb by 7:30 am. The garbage limit is two 80-litre cans or two (2) 66 cm x 91 cm bags not exceeding 20 kg. There is no limit on recycling and green can waste pick-up. Waste collection trucks collect each group of materials separately between 7:30 am. and 7:00 pm.  After your bin(s) has been emptied, please return it to your property as soon as possible.

Notes: 

  • Commercial properties and multi-family homes, such as condos and townhouses, do not receive waste collection services from Langley City.
  • Due to the statutory holidays on January 1 and December 25, collections will be pushed back by one day.

Never forget another collection day! Enter your address below to find out when your pickup day is. Get a reminder email, tweet, phone call, or import a personalized calendar to iCal, Outlook or Google Calendar.

Extra Garbage and Large Item Pick Up

Emterra Environmental provides garbage, green waste and large item curbside pickup for City residents.

Extra Garbage Pick-Up:

Purchase one-time-use garbage stickers for $3 per bag from Langley City Hall (20399 Douglas Crescent) Corporate Services Department, Monday to Friday between 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

Large-Item Pick-Up

Each year, up to four items can be picked up and are available to detached single-family dwelling residents by appointment only.

Accepted Items

  • Furniture
  • White Goods: stoves, dishwashers, hot water tanks, refrigerators, freezers, washers & dryers
  • Small Household goods when boxed or bundled would be one item

Banned Items

  • Mattresses
  • Carpets
  • Tree Stumps
  • Lumber/demolition or home renovation materials
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Car bodies or parts
  • Propane Tanks
  • Tires

 

Schedule a pick-up appointment or report issues:

Emterra Environmental
Call 604.635.0999
Email col@emterra.ca

Materials Banned from Garbage Collection

For a complete list of banned materials click here.

Pet waste is not banned from garbage collection. Find more information about how to properly dispose of your dog waste.

Garbage is inspected for high percentages of banned and recyclable materials. Loads that arrive at the disposal sites containing more than 5% (by volume) of banned materials are assessed a 50% surcharge (an additional $32.50 per tonne) on the whole load. These charges are passed back to your business or complex or municipality.

For more information, visit MetroVancouver or call the MetroVancouver Information Centre at 604.432.6200.

Recycling

Recycling Collection Services Provided at No Cost to Curbside Collection Customers
In 2014, the province mandated a producer-run recycling program to encourage reduced packaging and waste. In 2015, Langley City joined Recycle BC, a not-for-profit organization responsible for residential packaging and paper recycling across the province. Joining Recycle BC will help ensure that we maximize the amount of material recycled, as well as save the City, and taxpayers, money.

Pick Up Schedule
Recycling is picked up weekly on the same day as your City-scheduled weekly green can waste and bi-weekly garbage pick up. View the 2024 Recycling Collection Schedule to see when your area collects its recycling. 

Sorting Requirements
Recycle BC and GFL Environmental will not collect recycling if it has not been properly sorted into three categories - paper, containers, and glass. If this occurs, an “oops” sticker will be left behind by the driver to inform the resident of why their material was not collected. Proper sorting ensures that more of the material that gets collected is successfully recycled.

Every truck has separate compartments for recycling and it's the driver's responsibility to ensure that the materials are placed into the compartments correctly.

Detailed program info:

• Recycle BC Accepted Materials List (consolidated)

More information on recycling collection visit Recycle BC or contact GFL Environmental at 778.765.3662 or srrecycle@gflenv.com.

More Information
Contact the recycling collection contractor, GFL Environmental at 778.765.3662 or srrecycle@gflenv.com. If unsatisfied with their response, please contact Recycle BC at 778-588-9504; Toll Free 1-855-875-3596 or info@recyclebc.ca.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do with the items not accepted in my recycling containers?
You will continue to be able to recycle all of the plastic and metal packaging, and paper, that you do today in your recycling containers. Materials that are depot-only (foam packaging, plastic bags and overwrap, and other flexible plastic packaging) should continue to be excluded from curbside and instead taken to a Recycle BC Depot.  

What do I do with my extra blue box and green box?
You are welcome to keep the extra boxes. They can be used for storage, moving boxes, raised garden beds, or kept as a backup recycling box in the event that your main box goes missing or is damaged. Unfortunately, the boxes themselves cannot be collected for recycling, so if you want to dispose of them, it will need to be placed in the garbage.

Do I have to pay for replacement recycling containers?
If you receiving blue box service from Recycle BC, the following replacements will be provided:

  • Up to one blue box replacement every three years without charge;
  • Up to one grey box replacement every three years without charge; and
  • Up to one yellow bag replacement every year without charge.

If your request exceeds the number of replacement containers allotted, you may purchase additional boxes and bags from GFL.

I need another container, do not qualify for a free replacement and do not want to pay GFL. What are my options?
You may use a rigid container of your choice, such as a store-bought recycling bin or a large plastic tote. Corrugated cardboard that does not fit in your yellow bag can be flattened and cut to no larger than 30” wide (76cm) x 30” tall (76cm). Stack neatly and securely placed beside or between recycling containers.

Additional Resources
Green Can Waste

Green Can Collections

The City provides a weekly collection of compostable organic waste year-round. Please visibly place your green can waste at the curbside by 7:30 am on your collection day in either:

  1. Designated refuse containers (minimum 50 litres / maximum 80 litres) marked with a "Green Can" decal, making sure this decal is facing the street (decals available at City Hall, 20399 Douglas Crescent)
  2. Double-ply water-resistant, compostable kraft yard bags specifically designed for green waste collection, available at most retail stores.

If cans do not have the Green Can decal, it will appear to be a regular garbage can and will result in your green waste not being picked up.

It is important that items placed in your Green Can should be wrapped in paper bags or newspaper only.  PLASTIC BAGS AND 'COMPOSTABLE' PLASTIC BAGS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Green Cans containing any type of plastic bag will not be emptied until the bags are removed. The composting facility that accepts the City's organic waste is not able to accept compostable plastic bags due to the accelerated nature of their decomposition process.

Branches (maximum 1 m x 60 cm) must be securely tied in bundles that are no heavier than 20kg. 

Accepted Green Can Items

What you can put in your green bin?

The City's contractor will only accept the following green bin items:

  • Food
  • All food including produce (fruits and vegetables), grains (bread, baked goods, pasta), dairy, meat, fish, shells (eggshells and shellfish) and bones
  • Plate and kitchen scraps (prepared leftover food)
  • Food-Soiled Paper (not clean paper)
  • Food-Soiled Paper Bags (not clean paper bags)
  • Food-soiled newsprint (kitchen catcher liner)
  • Paper napkins (food-soiled)
  • Pizza Boxes (food-soiled)
  • Paper Take-out containers (food-soiled)
  • Small amounts of fat, oil and grease
  • Paper egg cartons
  • Paper bags
  • Coffee grounds and paper filters
  • Teabags and tea grounds
  • Waxed cardboard
  • Wooden chopsticks, skewers, popsicle sticks
  • Yard Waste
  • Flowers
  • Grass clippings
  • Leaves
  • Other organic yard materials
  • Plants (living, dead, dried)
  • Trees & Hedge Prunings
  • Clean wood (small pieces)
Unacceptable Green Can Items

What you cannot put in your green bin?

The City's contractor will not accept the following green bin items:

  • Inorganic materials like glass, metal and plastic can't be composted.
  • Plastic and plastic-lined bags, even the ones labelled "biodegradable" or "compostable," are not accepted as they can cause operational problems, may not break down properly during processing and may contaminate the finished compost. If the operator identifies plastic bags or other non-compostable materials in the green bin, the entire load may be rejected and sent to landfill.
  • Animal carcasses
  • Butter wrappers
  • Bread tags
  • Cereal and cracker box liners
  • Chip and cookie bags
  • Coffee cups and lids, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Cotton swabs and balls, make-up remover pads
  • Cork
  • Dental floss
  • Dirty diapers
  • Elastic bands
  • Foil wrap, containers and pie plates
  • Glass jars
  • Metal cans
  • Netting
  • Pet food bags and other lined bags, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Pet waste or kitty litter
  • Personal hygiene items, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Plastic bags and plastic-lined bags, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Plastic containers and plastic cutlery, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Plastic wrap, even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Produce stickers (PLU stickers), even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Ribbon
  • Rubber bands
  • Soiled diapers
  • Soil, sod, rocks
  • Styrofoam
  • Swizzle sticks
  • Twist ties
  • Vacuum contents and bags
  • Wipes (e.g. baby wipes, make-up remover wipes), even those marked “biodegradable” or “compostable”
  • Wire
Multi-Family Residences

Multi-family homes (i.e. condos and townhouses) do not receive waste collection services from Langley City. Multi-family complexes management organizations arrange the service through a private waste hauler.

Garbage

Materials Banned from Garbage Collection

For a complete list of banned materials – including corrugated cardboard, newsprint, beverage containers, paint, oil, electronics and soon: organic waste and clean wood –- contact your service provider. For more information, visit www.metrovancouver.org or call the Metro Vancouver Information Centre at 604.432.6200.

Garbage is inspected for high percentages of banned and recyclable materials. Loads that arrive at the disposal sites containing more than 5% (by volume) of banned materials are assessed a 50% surcharge (an additional $32.50 per tonne) on the whole load. These charges are passed back to your business, complex, or municipality.

Recycling

Multi-Family residents, please check out the recycling toolkit tailored to the number of units in your complex.

Recycling Resources:

Green Can

Did you know that Metro Vancouver banned organic materials (including food scraps) from the landfill in 2015?  Your multi-family complex should be set up with organics/food scraps collection!  If your complex is not receiving this service, please contact your strata or property management company about contacting a private hauler, such as your current garbage contractor.

Green Waste Resources:

Metro Vancouver’s Information about the Green Bin
Metro Vancouver's Food Scrap Information for Apartments and Condos