Frequently Asked Questions

Garbage and Recycling Collections

1. Collection Days
   • Garbage and Recycling: Every Thursday
   • Bulky items and construction, renovation and demolition waste (CRD): First Thursday of the month, from April to November.
   • Green waste and leaves: every Monday from April to November. See schedule
2. Green residue collection schedule:
   • Spring: Every Monday from mid-April to early June.
   • Summer: Every two weeks, from late June to mid-October.
   • Fall: Weekly, from late October to late November.
3. Green residue includes: Dead leaves, hedge trimmings and yard waste (flowers, dead plants, weeds, grass clippings and stubble, wood chips, straw, hay, bush/shrub roots and plants.
4. Collection schedule for bulky items and construction, renovation and demolition waste (CRD): Monthly, starting the first Thursday in April through November.
5. If you miss the bulky items/CRD collection: Wait until the next one or bring these materials to the Public Work drop-off site.
6. What is CRD?
   “CRD” is waste produced by construction/renovation and demolition of residential buildings performed by the occupant and not by a contractor.
7. Permitted bulky items: Furniture, rugs (to 6’ rolled and tied), mattresses, pool covers (rolled), household appliances (stoves, dishwashers, fridges, freezers), BBQ (without propane tank), hot water heaters, air-conditioning units, dehumidifiers, tire rims, cardboard boxes (flattened and stacked), etc.
8. CRDs accepted for bulky items collection: Wood and pallets, plasterboard, ceramics, concrete, bricks, paving stones (in open containers or boxes, for manual pick-up, up to 25 kg—55 lbs.), melamine, doors and windows, vinyl siding, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, mirrors and window panes (various sizes), asphalt and asphalt shingles, etc.
   Only CRDs resulting from renovations performed by residents themselves are allowed. Manually loaded items must be in containers or boxes. In general, it must be possible for 2 workers to pick up the materials by hand and do so in no more than 5 minutes.
9. I have green residue and leaves in plastic bags to be picked up. Will they be?
   No. Put your green residue and leaves in a garbage can, paper bag or cardboard box. Blue recycling bags are not allowed.
10. I have bulky objects in plastic bags to be picked up. Will they be?
    No. Put bulky objects in a garbage can, paper bag or cardboard box. Blue recycling bags are not allowed.
11. Will my CRDs resulting from renovation work performed by a private contractor be picked up?
    No. Only CRDs from the work performed by residents themselves are accepted.
12. Why weren’t my bulky objects and CRDs picked up on Thursday?
    Bulky objects and CRDs are only picked up the first Thursday of the month, from April through November.
13. Why weren’t my bulky objects/green residue/leaves/garbage picked up?
    Items not scheduled for collection (green residue, leaves in plastic bags, bulky objects, etc.) and put out to the curb on the wrong day or put out late will not be collected. Make sure you have the right day for the right collection. If none of these reasons applies, leave your contact information and we’ll follow up. 
14. Where should I leave bulky items and CRDs?
    Bulky objects should be neatly/safely stacked and placed separately from household garbage.
15. When should I put garbage and recyclables out to the curb?
    Put bulky waste/green residue/leaves and garbage cans out to the curb before 7:00 a.m. on collection day—or after 9:00 p.m. the night before.
16. What do I do with hazardous household waste (HHW)?
    Roving HHW collections are scheduled in the spring and fall each year. If you miss a collection, visit the collection sites of neighbouring municipalities.
17. Does the new bulky item collection have any impact on the ordinary garbage collection schedule?
    No. Both are completely separate.
18. Can I give away used objects that still work?
    YES. If your bulky items can still be used, you can give them to charity. Please send an email to reduction@beaconsfield.ca for a list of these organizations. 
19. I received a notice stating that my items cannot be picked up. Who can I discuss this with?
    Please call 514 428-4500 or email reduction@beaconsfield.ca for any questions or information about pick-ups. You can also check the online collection schedule or available in the CONTACT for a list of items that will be accepted and rejected.
20. Are special pick-ups still possible?
    Yes. You can always request a paid special pick-up if you miss a pickup and for CRDs produced by a private contractor. An inspector will come by and estimate the fee ($95 minimum).

Garbage and Recycling

1. Why shouldn’t organic materials go to landfill, since they will biodegrade naturally?
   Compostable organic materials that are buried in a landfill site (dump) contaminate the water and generate such greenhouse gases as methane (CH4). When properly composted, they return organic matter to the earth without giving off leachates or methane.
2. Can I put my table scraps through a sink garbage disposal?
   Such units are prohibited in Montréal because the water treatment system is not designed to cope with the waste they generate. Furthermore, water treatment sludge is incinerated. The organic matter it contains is not, therefore, recyclable.
3. What should I do with my table scraps?
   “Table scraps” means waste of vegetable origin, such as fruit and vegetable peels, grains and cereals and spoiled fruit and vegetables (other than oils and fats). Waste of animal origin and contaminated waste (carcasses, meat fat, table scraps mixed with sauce, etc.) must be placed in the garbage. Vegetable table scraps can be mixed with other home compost.
   • Each household may obtain one free composter and one free kitchen collector from the Public Works drop-off site.
4. How can I get rid of animal waste?
   The City currently does not pick up table scraps of animal origin or pet excrement. You can put such substances in the garbage. Waste of animal origin includes:
   • Meat, fat, cheese, bones and carcasses of chickens, etc.
   • Remainders of sauces and prepared dishes.
   • Pet (dog, cat, bird, etc.) excrement.
5. What do I do with dead animals?
   Dead animals (other than small ones) are not usually accepted for garbage pickups. Their bodies can be turned over to veterinarians or buried on your property.
   • Small dead animals: put then in a garbage bag.
   • Large and medium-sized dead animals: contact Public Works.
   • Pets: may be buried on your property—or contact your veterinarian.
6. What do I do with disposable diapers?
   Put all disposable diapers from babies and other sources in the garbage.
7. What do I do with medical or human waste?
   Occasional medical waste may be put in the household garbage. However, residents who regularly use syringes must discard them in sharps disposal containers. Your pharmacy can provide further information.
   • Used bandages, cotton balls, etc.: garbage
   • Syringes: sharps disposal container (check with pharmacy)
8. What do I do with used clothing and different fabrics not suitable for charity?
   All non-reusable and non-recyclable clothing and fabrics may be discarded as garbage. However, recycling firms often accept to make rags or fiber. Check with such organizations. If they don’t want them, put them in the garbage.
9. How do I discard expired medications?
   Take them to the pharmacy.
10. Can I put my garbage in plastic bags?
    Although plastic wrap is recyclable, we recommend using sealed plastic bags to discard waste and control odour.
11. Where are recyclable bulky items and construction, renovation and demolition waste taken?
    They are hauled to a dry materials sorting centre, except for cooling equipment, such as refrigerators, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, etc., which are taken to Public Works, where cooling liquids are removed by an accredited firm, before they are recycled.
    The sorting centre separate recyclable materials (wood, metal, plastics, plasterboard, asphalt shingles, cardboard, etc.) before recycling and reusing them.
    Bulky items and CRDs that are picked up by the City are not recycled. Take materials in good working order to a recycling organization.
12. Why recycle glass, which will be sent to landfill anyway?
    Not true! Glass that is recycled through selective collection (blue bin) is separated and sent to recyclers. Glass, which comes from sand, is worth less than other recycled materials and recycling it is less cost effective. However, the recycling industry is evolving and you are encouraging development of these new solutions by discarding glass in your blue bind. Three subsectors currently use recycled glass:
    • Glass micronization for reuse in concrete.
    • Production of paving stones (see the Jean-Talon Market plan).
    • Use as cover materials in engineered landfill site.

Incentive Tariff Approach

1. What is incentive tariff?
   The incentive tariff approach offers flexible services for residents and provides a more equitable method of charging for garbage collection.
   The pilot project allowed residents to choose a garbage bin size (120 L, 240 L and 360 L) and put the bin out to the curb only when necessary. Garbage sent to landfill dropped 31%.

See the incentive tariff approach section

2. Will this cost me more?
In 2015, $176 from each property tax account went to waste management. This system would provide new services while minimizing waste management charges and boosting the City's environmental performance. The charges billed to residents depend, each year, on what the City pays to outside contractors. Residents who use the full set of municipal recycling services should not pay more than before. It is likely they will pay less.

3. Will the incentive tariff apply to all Beaconsfield residents?
Incentive tariff only applies to residents with their own wheeled garbage bin, for the moment.

4. Why should we change our habits?
Before rolling out its Reduction Strategy, Beaconsfield was the Island of Montréal's second-largest waste producer per capita. Residents generated an average 418 kg/person/year (compared with an average 272 kg for Québec as a whole, based on RECYC-QUÉBEC 2010 Household Characterization figures).
The average Beaconsfield garbage bin was, on average, half filled with compostable organic matter that can easily be diverted from landfill. These new measure help cut landfill costs and protect the environment.
Beaconsfield must comply with Québec's regulations. These include no paper, cardboard or organic matter in garbage by 2020. The Québec Action Plan for Waste Management seeks to:

• Recycle 60% of biodegradable materials.
• Recycle 70% of paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and scrap metal.
• Send 70% of construction, renovation and demolition waste (CRD) to a sorting centre.
• Cut waste production 16%.

5. Why not pick-up compostable materials, like our neighbours?
Beaconsfield has different features from these communities:

• The vast majority of residents live in single-family homes.
• Over 92% have backyards and can compost.
• Abundant vegetation generates a very large volume of green residue.

Beaconsfield's Reduction Strategy provides a more comprehensive approach aimed at reducing all waste production. Initiatives in place seek to recycle the very large majority of organic waste (green residue, domestic composting and grasscycling), while boosting reuse of all other waste (collections of bulky items and construction, renovation and demolition waste).