We are lucky in most places in Ontario. There are regular recycling and waste pickups, with many communities even offering green bins for compostable items. All you have to do is collect anything you are not using and put it to the curb in the appropriate receptacle for collection. Even apartment building have separate collection areas for garbage and recycling. Trash disposal is easy!

Did you know that not everything belongs in the trash though? Many items that people carelessly toss away should actually be reused or recycled, beyond what is offered in curbside collections. Whether it is reuseable, requires additional steps in the recycling process, or harmful to the environment, some items require a different route. The problem is that this forces people to collect these additional items separately to dispose of in other ways. And that means additional work.

Load of Rubbish can help.

20 Items Not to Trash

  1. batteries
  2. fridges
  3. air conditioners
  4. water coolers
  5. markers
  6. computers
  7. printers
  8. televisions
  9. cell phones
  10. light bulbs
  1. paint
  2. gently used clothes
  3. books
  4. gently used furniture
  5. collectable items
  6. reusable kitchen tools & appliances
  7. scrap metal
  8. construction material
  9. tires
  10. wiring

Trash to Treasure

Any of the above mentioned items should not be considered straight trash. Many of them, like any electronic waste items, contain valuable metals which can be recycled and used again. Some items contain chemicals which prove harmful to the environment if tossed into area landfills, including refrigerators, freezers, and batteries. But other items have plenty of life left in them and just need to find a new home for people to reuse them, like books, clothes, and lots of furniture.

At Load of Rubbish, we happily take many items that don’t belong in regular household waste. Items with refrigerant are held until we can get them properly drained, before they are taken to recyclers. E-waste and batteries are collected separately as well. They go in another direction for recycling. Usable furniture, small appliances, clothes, knickknacks, and collectables make their way to thrift stores where they find new life with different owners. We even collect assistive devices to donate to organizations in need. Our aim is to keep as much as possible out of the landfill and we do a pretty good job of it. Over 80% of what we collect is redirected out of landfills.

So before you put an item to the curb on your next garbage day, think about whether it belongs there. If you aren’t sure, give us a call at 519-637-6928 and ask. Together, we can help reduce the amount of waste produced in Ontario. One Load of Rubbish Truck-full at a time.