Waste Services

Find out what neighbourhood and zone you are in, as well as your collection day!

Town Collection Map

Collection frequency

Black garbage carts are picked up weekly on your household's designated waste collection day. Refer to the Waste Collection Schedule to find your collection day.

Black garbage cart sizes & options

The Town of Okotoks provides a 120L black garbage cart as part of its cart collection program. Residents have the option to choose from two other cart sizes based on usage and each size of cart has a corresponding fee associated with it.

• Request a different cart size.
• Waste Services fees

Small (120L) Standard
The standard cart has a capacity of approximately two regular size bags.

Medium (180L)
The medium cart has a capacity of approximately three regular size bags.

Large (240 L)
The large cart has a capacity of approximately four regular size bags.

The solution for occasional excess garbage

Excess Bags
	For the odd time you exceed your weekly garbage cart limit, purchase an official Town excess garbage bag. Bags are available at the Municipal Centre, Recreation Centre, Sobeys and Safeway. Cost per bag: see Waste Service fees

Helpful Links

• Report a missed or damaged cart
• Request services - new owner
• What goes where? 

All food, pet and yard waste are accepted in the green organics cart. Learn more at okotoks.ca/WhatGoesWhere

Collection Frequency

• Weekly from April to the end of October
• Bi-weekly from November to the end of March.

Green organics carts are picked up on your household's designated waste collection day. Refer to the Waste Collection Schedule to find your collection day.

Green organics cart sizes & options

The Town of Okotoks provides a standard 120L green organics cart as part of its cart collection program. Residents have the option to choose from two other cart sizes based on usage and each size of cart has a corresponding fee associated with it.

• Request a different cart size
• Waste Services Fees

Small (120L) Standard
The standard cart has a capacity of approximately two regular size bags.

Large (240L)
The medium cart has a capacity of approximately three regular size bags.

Extra Large (360 L)
The large cart has a capacity of approximately four regular size bags.

Helpful Links

• Request services - new owner
• Report a missed or damaged cart 
• What goes where?

Frequency of collection

Blue recycling carts are picked up weekly on your household's designated waste collection day.

Refer to the Waste Collection Schedule to find your collection day.

Blue recycling cart sizes & options

The Town of Okotoks provides a 240L blue recycling cart as part of its cart collection program.

A larger (360L) blue recycling cart option is also available to meet varying household needs:

• Request a different cart size.
• Waste Services Fees

Large (240 L)

Extra Large (360 L)

Helpful Links

• Request services - new Owner 
• Report a missed or damaged cart
• What goes where?

• Place carts with wheels touching curb
• Ensure carts are at least one metre (3 feet) from parked vehicles and fixed objects
• Leave enough space for you to walk around the carts

• Set the carts at the edge of back lane and allow one meter (3 feet) from any obstruction behind the cart (e.g. fence)
• Carts must NOT block lanes or roads
• Carts will NOT be collected from enclosures

• All carts must be placed out for collection no later than 7a.m. on your collection day
• Lids closed
• Carts must be returned to your property at the end of day

Learn about Keeping your property safe

Trees must be unbagged with all decorations removed.

Option 1: Drop off until January 31 at:

• Operations Centre
• Okotoks Recreation Centre
• Centennial Arenas

Option 2: Cut and place the tree in your green organics cart.

Option 3: Place the tree on its side at your regular collection area for pick up prior to January 16.

Free compost is available to residents twice yearly (usually May and October). Quantities are limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis until the compost is gone. Just bring your shovel, a pail and transportation to self-haul your free compost home. 

Note: Residents are responsible for loading compost into their own vehicle. 

The compost pick-up area is located at the east side of the Eco Centre parking lot (left of the main entrance gate).

Extra bags of yard waste placed beside your cart will not be collected. However, grass clippings and leaves (no branches) are accepted at the Eco Centre’s drop off bins. Grass and leaves can be dumped into the bins loose or in a paper or certified compostable bag. 

If the contents of your cart are freezing to the inside or getting stuck, collectors may be unable to fully empty them. The following tips may help:

• Strain excess liquid out of wet, compostable material
• Wrap kitchen waste in newspaper, a paper bag or already soiled paper (such as paper towel) to absorb moisture
• Wrap and freeze material in your freezer and then place it in the organics cart immediately before collection so it can fall out easily
• Line your cart with dry materials such as a paper bag
• Layer kitchen organics with soiled paper or newspaper
• Avoid pushing down or compacting materials in the cart

If you find that material has frozen inside your cart, wait for warmer temperatures to thaw the material out. Try placing your cart in sunlight if possible and use a stick to loosen the stuck items.

It's also a good idea to place your organics cart at the curb for all scheduled collections, even if it’s not full. This will also help prevent material from becoming too frozen to fall out.

Do you know how to properly dispose of your waste? Use our What Goes Where searching tool. Type the name of an item and we'll tell you how.  A lot of your waste can be diverted from the landfill. It's easy!

1. Go to okotoks.ca/WhatGoesWhere
2. Type in the item you want to dispose of: candy wrapper, computer, paper, Styrofoam, paint, batteries etc.
3. Hit the search button!

You can also access the Waste Wizard directly from the Town's Mobile Waste App!

Download the Mobile App

Black garbage and blue recycling cartsnbsp;are collected weekly on the same day of the week year-round. 

Green organics carts are picked up:

• Weekly from April to the end of October,
• Bi-weekly from November to the end of March

All carts must be out by 7 a.m.

Use the online collection schedule to find your collection day. Using just your address, access your own personalized schedule and sign up for reminders. 

Download the free Okotoks Waste app to get instant access to your garbage, recycling and organics information in the palm of your hand, including your schedule. 

Green cart (organics)

Contents can be placed loose inside the cart without using a bag or liner. A paper bag is optional.

Animal waste and bedding are the exceptions: they must be placed in a paper bag inside the green cart. 

Blue cart (recyclables)

Do NOT use a bag or liner. Contents must be loose, not bagged or bundled.

The following items are exceptions:

• Shredded paper must be placed in a transparent bag inside the blue cart.
• Plastic bags, plastics wrap and bubble wrap must be bundled into one plastic bag and tied closed.

Black cart (garbage)

All garbage placed into the black cart must be bagged. 

The material needs to be loose to be sorted by the machines. For the safety of workers, tied bags are assumed to be garbage and are never opened.

Shredded paper and plastic bags are hand-sorted for recycling; transparent bags make them easy to identify and grab.

Watch this video to learn about how recyclables are sorted at recycling facilities.

If your cart is damaged or missing, please fill out the online Report a Missed/Damaged Cart form.

Please allow a maximum of five business days to complete your change request. 

If you have any questions please contact Waste Services using the contact information at the bottom of this page.

To have carts delivered to your new home, fill out the online Request services - New Owner form. Once this form is filled out Waste Services is notified that carts need to be delivered. Your carts will be delivered within 5 business day of your possession date, and collection service will start immediately once you've received your carts.

If you have any questions please contact Waste Services using the contact information at the bottom of this page.

• Our program accepts pet waste and kitty litter in the green cart. During the composting process, the material is heated to temperatures at which any harmful bacteria is killed. Strict testing is conducted to ensure the compost is safe to use.
• Animal waste must be in a paper bag before placing it in the green cart.
• Please do not use plastic or biodegradable bags because these bags do not break down during the composting process and will reduce the quality of the finished compost.

1. Use the online collection schedule to help you remember your waste collection day. By typing in your address, you can access your own personalized Collection Schedule. 
2. Import your personalized Collection Schedule to your online iCal, Outlook or Google Calendar.
3. View, download (PDF), or print your personalized Collection Schedule.
4. Sign up for personalized reminders by email, voicemail or Twitter.
5. Make it even easier and download the Okotoks Waste Mobile App!

Yes. Please ensure that all items are placed at the curb by 7 a.m. on your scheduled day to ensure pick-up. 

Collection happens on stat holidays that fall between Tuesday and Friday, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

When a stat holiday is approaching, check the mobile app or online schedule to ensure you know what day your collection is moving to. Or better yet, sign up for reminders so you get a convenient reminder anytime there is a change to your collection day due to holidays, snowstorms, equipment breakdowns etc.!