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.

Recycle your packaging this holiday season

Whether you’re skipping the mall or choosing to shop local, here is your cheat sheet on where everything goes once the unboxing is done!

  • Plastic shipping envelopes, bubble wrap & airpillows: Pop-away! Then bundle all your stretchy plastic bags into a single bag, tie it closed and place in your blue cart. Or drop off at a Community Recycling Depot for free.
  • Cardboard boxes: Flatten cardboard, fold as needed and place in your blue cart, or reuse them!
  • Paper packaging: Crumple it up and toss it in your blue cart for recycling. But hey, it also makes excellent wrapping paper if you want to keep it around to reuse!
  • Foam packaging: An often-misplaced item – Collect your foam packaging, just like you would with bottles for the bottle depot and take a larger batch in one trip to a City Eco Centre. Can’t get to an Eco Centre – then put all types of foam in your black cart as garbage.

Not sure what goes where? Use the What Goes Where search tool to find out where to recycle, compost, or dispose of your everyday items, and how to properly prepare them.

 

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; 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
Monthly Rate 2024

Blue Cart Fee ($ per 30 days)

$9.16

Your monthly cart program fees are not a "per-collection" fee but cover all the components 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.

To learn more, visit Residential Waste Rates.

How recycling works

Through our Blue Cart program and community recycling depots, we've recycled more than 700 million kilograms over the last 11 years.

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.

In 2017, some items were impacted by the changes in the Chinese recycling sector and put into storage. In 2018, new manufacturers were found in other markets to accept recyclables as well as to clear out the backlog of stored items from 2017.

Other disposal options

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