blue bins toronto

City of Toronto inspecting blue bins to see if you're recycling

Are you a bad recycler? If so, it might be time to clean up your act because the city of Toronto is about to dispatch the recycling police to ensure that residents are using their blue bins properly.

As the Toronto Star reports, Solid Waste Management officials will be checking to make sure residents are putting the right items in their recycling bins and possibly charging a small fee if contraband is spotted.

Sweet little notices were sent out last month (and probably thrown on top of a pile somewhere) that give a rundown on the impacts of improper recycling.

Each year, the city estimates that around 52,000 tons of materials unfit to be recycled is sent to the landfill because it improperly tossed into people's blue bins.

Dealing with contaminated recycling comes at a cost of about $10 million per year to the city and subsequently the taxpayers.

The new program is all part of an effort to educate the public on proper waste management, which can ultimately reduce landfill usage and save the city money.

And hopefully help the planet out a bit, too.

Lead photo by

Scott Snider


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