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Missed garbage pickup in Calgary? Here's what to do

Cart still full at dinner time? Don't panic — here's exactly how missed collections work in Calgary and how to get yours picked up.

Step 1 — Wait until the end of the day

Calgary cart collection runs from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on your pickup day, and routes can run late. Leave your cart out and accessible — a truck may still be coming. The City notes that missed-collection alerts may not appear until after the collection day has ended, so a report filed at noon usually can't be processed anyway.

Step 2 — Check whether your cart was skipped for a reason

Before reporting, look for a tag on your cart and rule out the usual causes:

  • Cart out late. Carts must be at the collection point by 7 a.m. — crews won't return for carts set out after the truck passed.
  • Wrong items inside. Contaminated carts get tagged, not emptied. Not sure what belongs where? Use our what-goes-where lookup.
  • Blocked or squeezed in. Keep about half a metre of clearance around each cart, away from parked cars, fences and other carts.
  • Extra bags without tags. Bags beside the black cart need City garbage tags.
  • Overstuffed recycling. If material is jammed in too tightly, it won't fall out when the cart is tipped.

If your cart was tagged, fix the issue for the next collection — the City asks that you not submit a missed-pickup request in that case.

Step 3 — Report it to 311

If the day has ended, your cart was out on time and there's no tag, report the miss:

  • Online: the City of Calgary's 311 missed-pickup service request form
  • App: the 311 Calgary mobile app (iOS and Android)
  • Phone: call 311 (403-268-2489 outside Calgary)

Submit a separate request for each cart — a missed black cart and a missed blue cart are two different reports.

Avoid the whole problem next time

Most "missed" pickups are actually forgotten set-outs. We send a free reminder email the evening before each collection at your address — schedule data straight from the City of Calgary Open Data portal. Look up your address and switch reminders on.

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