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Curbside Collection Overview
CVRD Curbside Collection Program
Beginning June 2, 2025, the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) will launch the Three-Stream Curbside collection service for all single-family properties in Electoral Areas. The service includes organics, recyclables, garbage and glass, which will be collected at the following frequencies:
Why Three-Stream?
Did you know that with the current garbage disposal rate, British Columbia is expected to run out of landfill space in about 23 years? While the CVRD is working with other jurisdictions to address the shrinking landfill capacity issue, we must also focus on minimizing the needless landfilling of reusable materials. Composting is a key strategy in the CVRD's Solid Waste Management Plan to reduce waste in our region.
The Cowichan Valley’s landfill was deemed full in the late 1990s and thus was closed. Before the closure, the CVRD tried to find an appropriate alternative, including siting a new landfill in our region, which was ultimately unsuccessful. With no local landfill, all garbage is exported over 700 km to Washington State—an increasingly expensive, dangerous and environmentally taxing solution, especially with the fires and floods associated with climate change. Yet, 33% of our garbage contains organic material that could be composted instead. The curbside organics service helps tackle this by accepting items unsuitable for most backyard composters, such as meat, dairy, grains, bones, and cooked food. By composting, we keep valuable materials in circulation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and move toward a more sustainable future for the Cowichan Valley.
Collection Schedules, Totes/Bins, Missed Collection
Click on the grey boxes below to learn about collection schedules, curbside tote/bin requests and missed collection procedures.
CVRD Electoral Area residents can access their collection schedules here. Download the Cowichan Recycles app (Google Play Store download, Apple App Store download) to have reminders directly to your phone or email.
North Cowichan, City of Duncan, Town of Ladysmith, and Town of Lake Cowichan residents should contact their municipalities for pick-up schedules. To find out which Area / Municipality you are in, click here.
Tote/Bin Sizes:
CVRD-issued curbside collection totes/bins are property of the CVRD; each tote is equipped with a geotagged identification tag and must remain at its assigned address.
Standard tote/bin sizes include:
- 132L tote for organics (combined food and yard waste)
- 132L tote for garbage
- 240L tote for recyclables (paper items and plastic/metal containers)
- 27L bin for glass bottles and jars
The standard tote sets are suitable for most households, as the 132L totes hold roughly the same amount as two regular-sized garbage cans.
Tote Requests:
Because it takes time to determine each household’s waste management needs, each household will receive a standard set of totes (see sizes above). The CVRD will offer tote size upgrades in 2026 after residents have had some time to become familiar with the service.
Please call the CVRD Recycling Hotline (250.746.2540) if:
- Your tote/bin is missing
- Your tote/bin is broken
- You no longer require your additional tote/bin
Have a missed pickup? Please follow the Guidelines for a Successful Collection below to ensure that your totes are collected on your scheduled pickup day.
Sign Up for Curbside Collection Service Alerts
Please visit the CVRD Facebook page for up-to-date information about missed collections due to mechanical failures or weather-related disruptions.
To receive updates via text or email, subscribe to the Garbage & Recycling CVRD News Flash system or download the Cowichan Recycles app (Google Play Store download, Apple App Store download).
Curbside Collection Inclement Weather Policy
Extreme weather events or acts of nature (e.g. snow, ice, flooding, etc.) may impede drivers from providing regularly scheduled curbside collection service. In some cases, an extreme weather event can cause some curbside collection services to be cancelled on your regularly scheduled collection day.
If CVRD Curbside Truck Drivers are unable to provide curbside collection service due to inclement weather, you can:
1) Hold onto your material until the next scheduled collection day. Drivers will accept extra recyclables placed in clearly marked containers such as laundry hampers, cardboard boxes or garbage cans (no plastic bags, please). For garbage and organics pickup, place extra garbage bags in a clearly marked wildlife-friendly container beside your tote (e.g. do not put a garbage bag beside your tote).
2) Take your material to a CVRD Recycling Centre.
Guidelines for Successful Collection
- Sort your waste materials correctly
- Review the organics, recyclables, glass and garbage webpages to learn what belongs in the totes and what must be taken to a Recycling Centre
- Use the Cowichan Recyclopedia, or download the Cowichan Recycles app on Google Play or the Apple App Store to find out how to dispose of a specific item
- Please ensure that materials are kept loose within the blue recyclable tote and yellow glass bin
- Be Bear Aware and do not leave your totes out overnight.
- To ensure a successful collection, totes may be placed at the curb after 5:00 am and before 7:30 am on your scheduled collection day; pickup times are not guaranteed and may change from week to week.
- Space your totes one metre apart from each other and surrounding objects
- Automated mechanical arms pick up the totes and need a certain amount of clearance to work effectively. Place all totes at least one metre (three feet) apart from each other and surrounding objects such as vehicles, poles, and utility boxes
- Ensure that there is a three metre (ten feet) clearance from overhanging obstacles
- Leave two meters (6.5 feet) clearance behind totes
- In snowy weather, this includes placing your tote one metre (three feet) away from snowbanks and other debris. Please do not place your totes on snowbanks.
- Ensure that all material fits inside your totes with the lid fully closed
- When tipped, overfilled totes can spill material onto the road
- Point the tote lid to open toward the street
- Ensure that the arrows on the lid point toward the street
- Avoid obstructing sidewalks with your totes
- Totes should be placed as close to the roadway as possible, without becoming a hazard by blocking sidewalks, cycling lanes, or roadways
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Recycling & Waste Management
Physical Address
175 Ingram Street
Duncan, BC V9L 1N8
Phone 250.746.2540
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Recycling Hotline