Residential curbside waste collection, diversion, and disposal services are delivered by the Region of Waterloo, servicing residents of the Area Municipalities. The Region has made great strides in waste management, expanding collection programs to reduce waste going to landfill, and shifting to every other week residential waste collection schedules to encourage waste reduction, recycling, and organics composting. From 2013 to 2019, green bin collection increased by 17 kilotons/year and residential garbage collection was reduced from 93 to 65 kilotons/year. Overall, waste diversion rates have also increased, from 52% in 2011 to 65% in 2019.
The Region will continue to manage residential waste with leading edge best practices. Additional efforts are required across the community to change how commercial, industrial, and multi-unit residential buildings deal with solid waste, and to minimize the amount of GHGs that are released from landfills both inside and outside the region.