Waste Management and Recycling

Household waste is picked up at the road curbside every week, the date is dependent on where you live and can be found here: 

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Household waste pickup is provided by Bruce Sales and Service of Chesley (519-363-3811)

Household waste must be:

• In a clear plastic bag - no tinted or black bags will be accepted
  • One opaque, or solid coloured, privacy bag is permitted within each clear garbage bag. This bag can be no larger than a kitchen catcher or grocery bag (20” x 22”).
  • For additional privacy, your garbage can be placed in a trash can at the road.
• A Brockton bag tag must be affixed to each clear garbage bag
• The maximum weight per bag is 40 lbs
• Household waste must be placed at the road by 7:00am on the day of pick up
  • If you choose to place it at the road the night before, please ensure that there is some form of deterrent for animals, whether it be within a trash can or something similar to prevent animals from getting into the waste overnight

If your household waste is not picked up, the bag tag will be marked to explain why. Recyclables, hazardous waste, electronic waste, leaf or yard waste will not be picked up and are banned from the landfills. This is part of Brockton’s waste diversion efforts.

Brockton maintains the Brant Landfill, Greenock Transfer Station, and the Walkerton Recycling Depot in addition to the Walkerton / Hanover Landfill that is run in conjunction with the Town of Hanover for Walkerton and Hanover residents.

Residents in the former townships of Brant are directed to the Brant Landfill, and the former township of Greenock residents are directed to the Greenock Transfer Station in most instances. 

Brant Landfill

Greenock Transfer Station

Walkerton-Hanover Landfill

Walkerton Recycling Depot

Blue Box Recyclables, hazardous waste, electronic waste, leaf and yard waste are not permitted to be disposed of in the waste disposal site at the landfill. Separate disposal options for recyclables and electronic waste are available at the landfills, free for residents.

Hazardous waste is under the purview of the County of Bruce and will not be collected or accepted at any Brockton landfill site. Specific collection days for each municipality are published each year for resident disposal. For more information: Bruce County Hazardous Waste.

In 2021, Cleanfarms, a non-profit environmental stewardship organization, began a three year pilot program aimed at developing a leading edge zero plastic waste strategy for Canadian agriculture. Brockton is participating in this pilot program lead by Cleanfarms in an effort of divert more waste from landfill locations.

The bale wrap bags can be picked up and dropped off when full at the Brant Landfill and Greenock Transfer Station.

Every year over 5,000 tonnes of alkaline batteries are sold in Ontario and only 14 tonnes are recycled. Most batteries go to our landfills and contribute about 88 per cent of the total mercury and 50 per cent of the cadmium found in the municipal waste stream.

Batteries collected through the Municipality of Brockton recycling depots are shipped to Raw Materials Company in Port Colborne, Ontario. Over 95 percent of the battery components are recycled. Recycling these reclaimed materials is 80 percent more energy efficient than mining these materials.

Our blue box pick up and recycling services are provided by Bruce Area Solid Waste Recycling or BASWRA, a non-profit formed by Bruce County municipalities in 1990.

Collection for roadside blue box pick up is scheduled every two weeks, the date of pick up is dependent on where you live and can be found here: 2023 Blue Box/Recycling Schedule

Blue Box recycling must be:

• At the curbside or roadside by 7:00am for collection
• Placed in a ‘lipped’ bin for sorting
• At least one blue box must be at roadside
  • If necessary, overflow may be placed in additional non blue box bins, provided they are ‘lipped’ however just placing non blue box bins increases the risk of being missed
  • Overflow may also be sorted and bagged in clear garbage bags. Unsorted bagged recycling will not be taken. Note the bags will not be taken.
• Items that are not accepted will be left in the blue box

Blue boxes can be purchased at the municipal office for a fee of $20.00 or at any hardware store.

Blue box materials can also be recycled at the landfill locations for free.

For a full list of accepted items, visit: Accepted Items and to sign up for email reminders for blue box day, visit: Email Reminders. Call the recycling hotline at 1-800-794-9770 if you have any additional questions or concerns. 

Composting

The municipal landfill sites have a compost pile for household compost, yard waste and leaf collection. If depositing bagged compost, the only bags that are permitted are biodegradable Kraft paper waste bags. No plastic bags will be accepted.

Corrugated Cardboard

Corrugated cardboard is not recyclable through blue box collection like box board and will not be picked up.

Flattening the boxes is required to ensure all available space is used. 

Corrugated cardboard can be recycled for free at any of the Brockton landfill sites and at the Walkerton Recycling Depot. 

Electronic Waste

In 2007, Brockton banned electronic waste from all Brockton landfills. Recycling electronics instead of sending them to the landfill keeps contaminants out of our environment and saves resources.

It takes only 14 tonnes of recycled e-waste to produce 1 tonne of copper, compared to 80,000 tonnes of raw material from underground mining.

• Ontario Electronic Stewardship

Between 2007 and 2020, Brockton residents have diverted 174,364kgs of electronic waste.

Electronic Waste can be recycled for free at any of the Brockton landfill sites and at the Walkerton Recycling Depot. 

Film Plastics

In 2014, the Brockton Environmental Advisory Committee launched a very successful pilot project to recycle film plastics that was adopted as a permanent recycling initiative in 2017. Film plastics make up a large portion of household waste and recycling the, closes the loop allowing for consumer packaging that can be remanufactured into new materials.

All plastic must be cleaned of food residue, with any stickers, paper and receipts removed. It is recommended to fill a recyclable bag with the film plastics to prevent loose material.

Film Plastics can be recycled for free at any of the Brockton landfill sites and at the Walkerton Recycling Depot.

Polystyrene 

In 2019, the Municipality of Brockton partnered with the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and Bruce Power to begin the polystyrene recycling program.

All polystyrene must be clean with stickers and tape removed. Placing dirty polystyrene in the bins contaminates the surrounding recyclable materials.

Polystyrene can be recycled for free at the Walkerton Recycling Depot.

Printer cartridges can be recycled for free at the Brockton Municipal Office and at the Walkerton Recycling Depot.

Reuse Trailer / Clothing Bins

Walkerton and Hanover residents can take clean, re-useable items to the Reuse Trailer where items are free for the taking at the Walkerton / Hanover Landfill.

Diabetes Canada Clothing Bins are also available at the Brant Landfill, Greenock Transfer Station and Walkerton Recycling Depot

Scrap Metal

Recycling scrap metal helps conserve energy and resources and items that are mostly metal or completely metal are accepted, at the landfill attendant’s discretion, at the landfill locations.

Note: large appliances are not included within this program.