Search any household item — pizza box, coffee cup, batteries — and see which Lunenburg bag or cart it belongs in, with the whole four-stream list to browse.
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Type what you’re throwing out — it tells you which bag or cart it goes in.
(3 months ago)
Not sure which bag or cart something goes in? Type it in and find out. The Town of Lunenburg sorts household waste into four streams — clean recyclables, paper, organics and garbage — plus deposit returns and depot drop-offs for the things that never go to the curb.
The streams
Clean Recyclables — blue bag
Plastics (except styrofoam), metal, glass food containers and paper cartons. Rinse them out; caps and lids off.
Recyclable Paper — clear or paper bag
Clean boxboard, newspaper, office paper and flattened cardboard. Keep paper in a separate bag from the other recyclables.
Organics — green cart
All food waste, soiled paper and yard waste. Line the cart with newspaper or a paper bag — no compostable plastic liners.
Garbage — clear bag
Whatever cannot be recycled or composted, in a see-through clear bag.
Refundables — return for the deposit
Beverage containers that carry a Nova Scotia deposit — worth returning to an Enviro-Depot for your refund. They will still be recycled in the blue bag, but then you lose the deposit.
Drop-off — not the curb
Hazardous waste, batteries, electronics and bulbs do not go to the curb — they go to a depot, free of charge.
The full list, bin by bin
Clean Recyclables — blue bag
Plastic tubs and lids (yogurt, ice cream, margarine)
Shrink wrap and bubble wrap — The Town puts these in the blue bag. Nova Scotia's province-wide rules (Dec 2025) move soft plastics to a depot — confirm with the Town.
Aluminum and steel cans (soup, beans)
Aluminum foil and pie plates (clean)
Empty aerosol cans — Must be empty. Province-wide rules now send these to a depot — confirm with the Town.
Glass jars and bottles (food) — Lids off; put both the jar and its lid in the blue bag.
Milk and juice cartons — Rinse them; the Town puts cartons in the blue bag.
Metal jar lids and bottle caps — Collect them in a tin can and crimp it shut so they get sorted.
Recyclable Paper — clear or paper bag
Clear bags only, out by 6 a.m.
Garbage must be in see-through clear bags — one opaque bag is allowed only on green weeks. Have everything at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on your collection day. Anything that is not sorted properly gets left behind.
Two streams one week, two the next
Recyclables and paper are collected one week; organics and garbage the following week. Check your collection calendar for your street's week and day.
No compostable plastic liners
Since November 2022 the green cart cannot take so-called compostable plastic bags — they do not break down fast enough for good compost. Line the cart with newspaper or a paper bag instead.
Not the curb — these go to a depot
Household hazardous waste goes to Kaizer Meadow
Paint, chemicals, solvents, motor oil and propane must go straight to the Kaizer Meadow Solid Waste Facility in a labelled container — never the curb, never the drain.
Batteries, electronics and bulbs
Batteries, electronics and fluorescent bulbs are taken free of charge at a drop-off depot, not at the curb. Check with the Town for the nearest spot.
The last word
This tool follows the Town of Lunenburg's own four-stream program. Nova Scotia changed its province-wide recycling rules in December 2025, so a few items — foam, chip bags, coffee cups, pizza boxes — may move between bins as the Town updates its program. When an item is not here, or you are unsure:
Shredded paper — Tie it inside a clear plastic bag so it does not scatter.
Envelopes and junk mail — Leave the plastic window on — it comes out in sorting.
Paper egg cartons
Toilet and paper-towel rolls
Books (paperback and hardcover) — Town: covers off, pages in the paper bag. Province-wide, books are no longer blue-bag recycling — better donated. Confirm with the Town.
Organics — green cart
All food scraps (peelings, leftovers)
Meat, fish and bones
Seafood shells — Lobster, crab, mussel and clam shells all go in the green cart.
Egg shells
Coffee grounds and tea bags
Pizza boxes — Greasy pizza boxes are soiled paper — the green cart, not the paper bag. Province-wide rules put clean ones with cardboard; when in doubt, green cart.
Paper coffee cups and waxy cold cups — Take the plastic lid off and recycle it; the waxy cup goes in the green cart. Province-wide rules now put cups in the blue bag — confirm with the Town.
Paper towels, napkins and tissues (used)
Waxed paper and paper plates
Sugar, flour and potato paper bags
Yard waste (leaves, grass, twigs) — Branches thicker than 2 inches: tie them in 3-foot bundles beside the cart.
Cooking oil and grease (small amounts) — Never down the drain. Let it solidify or soak it into paper towel, then the green cart.
Garbage — clear bag
Styrofoam (meat trays, foam cups) — The Town puts styrofoam in the garbage. Province-wide rules (Dec 2025) send foam to a depot — confirm with the Town.
Chip bags and candy wrappers — The Town puts these in the garbage. Province-wide rules move flexible plastics to a depot.
Plastic-lined and foil drink pouches
Diapers and personal hygiene items
Pet waste and kitty litter
Broken glass — Wrap it in newspaper and label it clearly as broken glass.
Clothing, footwear and textiles — Better donated if it is still usable.
Toothpaste tubes — The Town puts these in the garbage. Province-wide rules now put them in the blue bag.
Vacuum bags, floor sweepings and lint
Cigarette butts
Incandescent light bulbs — Old-style bulbs go in the garbage; fluorescent tubes and CFLs go to a depot.
Empty, dry paint cans — Lid off and dry inside. Wet or full paint goes to the hazardous depot.
Coffee pods and K-cups — Not on the Town's list. Empty the grounds into the green cart; the pod itself is safest in the garbage. Confirm with the Town.
Refundables — return for the deposit
Pop and soft-drink cans
Water and juice bottles (plastic)
Wine and liquor bottles — Caps off.
Beer cans and bottles — Refillable beer bottles have their own return program.
Drop-off — not the curb
Batteries — Free drop-off, not the curb.
Electronics (phones, TVs, cables) — Free drop-off, not the curb.
Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs — Not the curb — take them to a drop-off depot.
Household hazardous waste (chemicals, solvents, wet paint) — Take it to the Kaizer Meadow Solid Waste Facility in a labelled container.
Tires — Not the curb — a special drop-off.
Needles and sharps — Not the curb — a safe drop-off.