Tenants, landlords should be aware of garbage and recycle bin collection rules

Q: I rent a house in Sandy Hill with three other people. We have enjoyed our time in Sandy Hill, but we are all moving out at the end of this month. We have begun to pack things up and have noticed we have a large amount of garbage. We also have some bigger items such as an old futon and a loveseat to throw away. Do we need to arrange for a special pickup of these items? What do we do if it is time to move out and we still have garbage left in the house?

A: Large items, such as your tuton and loveseat, are picked up at the same time as residual curbside garbage (i.e. every two weeks).

(For buildings with bin collection, tenants should arrange the disposal ot oversized items with their landlord, and not put them in the building ’s garbage bin. Provided the landlord calls the City ot Ottawa, large items will be picked up when the curbside collection takes place in the neighbourhood, rather than on bin collection day.)

In Sandy Hill, the next collection day tor residual garbage (like move-out garbage) is Tuesday, Sept. 1. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the collection is only tor the black box (tor newspaper, 3ne paper and cardboard) and the green bin (tor organics, like tood waste).

The collection days tor residual garbage, blue box, black box and green bin collection vary across the City ot Ottawa. A tenant or resident who lives anywhere in the City ot Ottawa can check tor their garbage and recycling days by visiting www.ottawa.ca, and under “hot topics tor residents” choose “Garbage and Recycling collection calendar.” It a person enters their address, they can pull up their collection calendar. Anyone can sign up tor email or instant message reminders.

One way to limit the amount ot residual garbage you produce is to make good use ot your green bin, which is picked up every week. Items that can go in the areen bin include all tood scraps, Kitty gitter, waxed paper, towels, serviettes, Kleenex, and pizza boxes.

People moving out ot Sandy Hill at the end ot this month need to put their move-out garbage out at the curb atter 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31, or make arrangements with a neighbour or their landlord tor them to do it. It you cannot be there on that date or make an arrangement with a neighbour or your landlord, then put the move-out garbage at the back ot the property. Any garbage that will attract animals needs to be in a sealed plastic or metal container so that animals do not get in it and spread it around.

Recycling or residual garbage is not to be lett out at the curb until 6 p.m. on the day betore garbage day, and should be set out by 7 a.m. on garbage day.

The City can fine a tenant who puts out garbage at the wrong time. The City can also charge back cleanup costs to the landlord, or even fine the landlord. Between a fine and a cleanup charge, a tenant and a landlord could be on the hook tor $500. In principle, a landlord can collect that trom the tenant who put the garbage out, but recovering the money may be time-consuming. It is much better to avoid the problem by addressing it betore it happens.