Blue cart recycling

The City of Calgary provides Blue Cart recycling to single family residential homes.

Blue carts are collected weekly on the same day as green carts. Set your cart out by 7:00 a.m.

Bundle plastic bags together in a single bag and tie closed. For the rest of your recyclables, put them loose in your bin.

Extra bags are not accepted – all items must be in the cart. Save extra items for next week or take to a community recycling depot.

Not sure where to put an item? Check out What Goes Where.

Right bin for the win! Sort mixed packaging

Not all packaging is recyclable. Put these items in the black cart as garbage:

  • Deodorant sticks and toothpaste tubes
  • Coffee pods
  • Non-stretchy plastic bags and pouches (e.g. frozen fruit bags, baby food pouches etc.)
  • Items made from more than one type of material (e.g. chip bags, candy, chocolate granola bar wrappers, butcher paper)

What to do with foam packaging

You can take certain types of foam packaging to a City Eco Centre for recycling. This includes shipping foam packaging, foam meat trays with absorbent pads removed and foam take-out containers. Coloured and white foam only. No black foam. If you can’t bring foam packaging to an Eco Centre, you can put it in your black cart as garbage.

For more information visit Calgary.ca/ecocentre

What can go in your Blue Cart

YES items

See which items can go in your blue cart.

NO items

See which items cannot go in your blue cart.

What Goes Where

Find out how to dispose of other items.

Find your pickup schedule

Print a calendar

  • Type your address in the search box
  • Select Get a calendar
  • You can print a calendar (currently experiencing schedule issues when printed); or
  • Add an online calendar

Sign up for free reminders

  • Type your address in search box
  • Select Get a reminder
  • Chose type of notice
  • Add your contact details

Download the Calgary Garbage Day app

Never miss a collection day by downloading the Calgary Garbage Day app onto your mobile device.

Get it on Google Play
Available on the App Store

Using your Blue Cart

Using your blue cart

See how to prepare your recyclables

Cart placement tips

See how to place your cart on pickup day

Customer self-service

Report a missed collection

Black Cart - Missed Collection
Blue Cart - Missed Collection
Green Cart - Missed Collection

Request additional carts

Please review the options available to you.

Request cart for a new home

Request cart for a new home

Report a missing or damaged cart

Request cart repair/replacement

For more details, see Replacing Your Cart.

About Blue Cart Program

Who receives a cart?

We provide blue carts to single family homes up to four units, as long as they are not part of an apartment or condominium.

Blue Cart fee

Your monthly cart program fees are not a "per-collection" fee but cover all aspects of the residential cart programs, including providing carts to Calgarians, pickup from your home, sorting and processing of material as well as education and program support. 

Learn about Residential waste rates

As part of the provincial Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, manufacturers are taking on most of the costs of recycling in Alberta. This means the Blue Cart fee for single-family households will be reduced as of April 1, 2025. Learn more at calgary.ca/epr.

Learn more at calgary.ca/epr

How recycling works

Since 2009, the Blue Cart program and community recycling depots have recycled more than 930 million kilograms of material.

When your items are picked up from your blue cart, they go to a recycling sorting facility. People and machines sort all the mixed recyclables into different types of materials, bale them and ship them to markets where they will be made into new products.

Other disposal options

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