How Calgary cart collection works
Calgary uses a three-cart system. Here's the quick version.
🗑️ Black cart — Garbage
The black cart is for household garbage that can't be recycled or composted. It's collected every two weeks, year-round. Place it at the curb by 7 a.m.
♻️ Blue cart — Recycling
The blue cart takes paper, cardboard, plastic containers, metal cans, glass jars and cartons. It's collected weekly, year-round. Rinse containers and keep plastic bags bundled together.
🌿 Green cart — Food & yard waste
The green cart is for all food scraps (including meat and bones), food-soiled paper, pet waste and yard waste. It's collected weekly from April to October and every two weeks from November to March.
Set-out tips
- Carts out by 7 a.m. on collection day, wheels to the house.
- Leave at least 0.5 m between carts and clear of cars, trees and fences.
- Keep lids closed so material doesn't blow around.
- Collection runs 7 a.m.–4:30 p.m. — leave carts out until emptied.
Why your neighbour's day can be different
Routes are drawn street by street, not community by community — two houses a block apart can have different pickup days, and your three carts can each land on different days of the week. That's why we look up your exact address against the City's official schedule instead of showing a community-wide calendar.
Holidays, misses and extras
- Holidays: Calgary collects on almost every stat holiday — only Christmas Day and New Year's Day may change. See the holiday table.
- Missed pickup: leave the cart out until end of day, then report to 311. Step-by-step guide.
- Extra garbage: extra bags beside the black cart need City garbage tags, or they'll be left behind.
- New or damaged carts: request delivery, repair or a size change through 311.
Ready to check yours? Find your collection day →