Multi-unit residential buildings
Everything you need to know about waste management for multi-unit residential buildings. Learn about the procedures, guidelines, and types of collection services available.
All residential buildings must be served by Ville de Gatineau for the collection of trash, compost, and recyclables.
For multi-unit buildings, the collection location varies depending on the number of units.
To meet the objectives of Ville de Gatineau's 2023-2029 Residual Materials Management Plan (PGMR), bylaw 990-2025 on residual materials management within Ville de Gatineau has, since 2019, limited the amount of waste to 120 liters per housing unit per biweekly collection.
Waste treatment costs are high and rising every year. This increase in costs requires more efficient management and a reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Are you a building owner or manager who has received a letter from Ville de Gatineau? The purpose of this letter is to inform you that excess waste fees for buildings served by containers will soon be billed, as provided for in bylaw 990-2025.
Although the fees are scheduled to take effect in early 2027, Ville de Gatineau would like to offer guidance now to help building owners and managers reduce or avoid these fees.
If you have any questions, contact Ville de Gatineau by calling 311 or emailing pgmr@gatineau.ca.
Fees are calculated based on the building's waste volume.
The municipal service included in the "garbage collection" tax consists of 26 waste collections per year, with a maximum volume limit of approximately 120 litres of waste per residential unit per collection.
Appendix IV of the bylaw sets out the permitted volume based on the number of units in a building, as shown in the table below. Please note that if the container is semi-underground or equipped with a compactor, the permitted volume will differ.
| Number of units in the building | Permitted volume for above-ground containers without a compactor (in cubic yards) |
|---|---|
| 9 to 13 | 2 |
| 14 to 19 | 3 |
| 20 to 26 | 4 |
| 27 to 38 | 6 |
| 39 to 51 | 8 |
| 52 to 58 | 9 |
| 59 to 64 | 10 |
| 65 to 70 | 11 |
| 71 to 77 | 12 |
| 78 and above | Assessment required |
If you exceed this limit, the following fees may apply, as applicable:
Fictitious examples:
| Current situation | Allowed limit | Surplus (in cubic yards) | Volume surplus fee | Additional container fee | Annual cost for 2026 | Possible solution to avoid fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 6-by-3 container (25-unit building) | 4 v3 | 2 v3 |
$936
(2 v3 × $18 × 26 collections) |
$0 | $936 | Replace the 6 v3 container with a 4 v3 container |
| 3 4 v3 containers (46-unit building) | 8 v3 | 4 v3 |
$1,872
(4 v3 × $18 × 26 collections) |
$786.50
(1 extra container × $30.25 × 26 collections) |
$2,658.50 | Remove one 4 v3 container |
(Costs based on 2026 rates, subject to annual review, and available in Appendix II of the bylaw establishing applicable fees for goods, services, or activities offered by Ville de Gatineau .)
One of the goals of the fee structure is to ensure equity among different types of housing. In fact, single-family homes and buildings with eight units or fewer already pay their surcharges through fee stickers.
On average, multi-unit buildings generate significantly more waste per unit than single-family homes, partly because waste sorting is less effective.
On average, an apartment or condo produces 444 kg of waste per year, compared to 246 kg for a single-family home.
The sooner you take action, the more you can reduce or avoid excess fees. In fact, contacting us now allows you to:
Contact Ville de Gatineau by calling 311 or emailing pgmr@gatineau.ca to get an assessment of the solutions best suited to your situation.
Examples of solutions:
Several tools and services are available to help your residents improve their waste sorting practices:
You can schedule a bulky item pickup online or through the DTRITUS mobile app. The schedule includes 18 pickups per year, and a maximum of 12 items per pickup is allowed.
Bulky waste is accepted at both recycling centers for a fee of $15 per visit (1 m³). Visit the Ecocentres and waste transfer centre page for details.
Inform your residents about best practices to prevent these items from ending up in the trash container. You can print or order awareness materials, available in the Toolkit section of this page.
Here are several measures you can take:
You can check with your provider, as in some cases it's possible to replace a container with one of a different size, sometimes at no cost or at a reduced cost. You can also contact us so we can review your situation.
Trash collection takes place every two weeks. If your trash container is full before the next scheduled pickup, you can request additional pickups, either:
These additional pickups are available upon request by the owner or property manager and are billed according to the rate set forth in the current municipal bylaw. This service allows you to manage overflow situations without having to permanently change your building's authorized volume.
If the information in the letter does not reflect the actual situation at your building, please contact Ville de Gatineau by calling 311 or emailing pgmr@gatineau.ca. We will review your file and, if necessary, make the required corrections.
You may not have received a letter because city staff contacted the buildings most at risk of incurring fees. In fact, Ville de Gatineau conducted an analysis to identify the affected properties and determine whether their waste generation had remained unchanged. According to this analysis, nearly two-thirds of the properties served by containers already comply with the current limits.
If you still have concerns or would like more information about your situation, please contact Ville de Gatineau by calling 311.
| Number of units | Collection location | Compost | Recycling | Trash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 or fewer | Curbside | (Brown bins) Collected weekly |
(Blue bins) Collected every 2 weeks |
(Grey bins and eligible bags) Collected every 2 weeks |
| 9 or more | In the yard | (Brown bins) Collected weekly |
(Blue containers) Collected every 2 weeks (or more often if needed) |
(Containers) Collected every 2 weeks (additional pickups subject to a fee) |
To find the collection schedule for a building with 8 units or fewer, check the collection calendar. For a building with a waste container, the manager or owner can submit a request online or call 311.
Visit the Regular collections page.
Curbside collection means that bins or containers do not need to be placed at the curb. The collection truck drives directly onto private property to pick them up.
However, it is essential that the containers be easily accessible, with no obstacles in front of them (e.g., parked vehicles).
Owners of multi-unit residential buildings must provide bins and containers of sufficient capacity to store recyclable and compostable materials between collection days.
To order recycling containers or brown bins provided free of charge by Ville de Gatineau, you can submit a request online or call 311.
For buildings with 20 or more units, recycling containers are subject to fees according to the schedule in bylaw 61-2006.
If you wish to purchase, at your own expense, containers other than those offered by Ville de Gatineau, please contact the Service de l'eau et des matières résiduelles at pgmr@gatineau.ca beforehand to ensure they are approved by the Ville de Gatineau.
Ville de Gatineau does not provide waste containers for multi-unit residential buildings.
To find out the required container sizes based on the type of collection, consult the bylaw concerning waste management.
To find out the bulky item collection guidelines that apply to multi-unit residential buildings and the types of items accepted, see the "Bulky items" section on the "Surplus residual materials" page..
To find out the yard waste collection guidelines that apply to multi-unit residential buildings, see the "Surplus yard waste" section on the "Surplus residual materials" page.
A property owner, a member of the board of directors, or a manager of a multi-unit residential building may request additional pickups by paying the fee set forth in the applicable municipal bylaw.
Two types of pickups are available:
To make a request, you can submit a request online or call 311.
For a one-time pickup, you can also fill out the one-time additional pickup form.
Once the request is received and confirmed, Ville de Gatineau will schedule the pickup within a reasonable timeframe, giving priority to the requested date.
(Subject to change, non-taxable)
| Garbage container volume | Fee per additional pickup |
|---|---|
| 2 cubic yards | $54 |
| 3 cubic yards | $62 |
| 4 cubic yards | $72 |
| 6 cubic yards | $90 |
| 8 cubic yards | $107 |
Ville de Gatineau provides below a selection of printable resources to encourage residents of multi-unit housing to participate in compost and recyclable materials collection..
(Space provided at the bottom of the poster to add the collection location)
(How to collect and compost waste)
(How to sort and compost waste, with minimal text)
(Outlines all the services offered by Ville de Gatineau)
(To be installed above the corresponding bins and containers)
Are you planning to build a multi-unit residential building?
Consult the guide to waste management in residential buildings, designed for developers, owners, and property managers.
Are you planning your construction project? Consult this checklist.
For new buildings, Ville de Gatineau provides brown bins and kitchen mini-bins free of charge for each unit. Door-to-door outreach and training sessions are offered free of charge to encourage residents to sort their waste properly. To request these services, you can submit a request online or call 311.
If you have any questions about waste management for a new building, feel free to submit a request online or call 311.
Bylaw 990-2025 sets a limit of 120 liters of waste per unit per collection. This limit also applies to multi-unit residential buildings. In 2025, Ville de Gatineau consulted with owners and managers of multi-unit residential buildings. The goal was to improve the tools available to assist with waste sorting.
More than 60 people participated in this consultation, either during a workshop on August 14, 2025, or by completing an online questionnaire. Their opinions were compiled into a public report. This report will help Ville de Gatineau tailor its tools to the needs of multi-unit housing managers.
RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) tags allow for better tracking of collections and help maintain an accurate inventory of the bins and containers served by the municipal service.
Use the available space on the property and in the driveway to line up the bins according to the instructions.
You may place the bins on the lawn, provided you follow the guidelines (e.g., no obstacles in front of the bins).
If the space near the street or in the driveway does not allow for a 60-centimeter gap between each bin, you can submit a request online or call 311. Ville de Gatineau will assess the situation.
Owners of multi-unit residential buildings served by wheeled bins may choose to use a single, larger waste bin for the entire building or an individual bin per unit.
For example, a six-unit building can use six 120-liter bins or two 360-liter bins. The limit remains 120 liters per unit, and automated collection guidelines must be followed, including maintaining a 60-cm spacing between bins.
To change the size of the waste bins, the property owner must submit a request online or call 311.
The owner of a multi-unit building must provide bins for storing recyclable and compostable materials between collection days.
If blue or brown bins are not available, you can submit a request online or call 311.
Yes. Since 2018, condominium associations and owners of residential buildings have been required to provide their residents or tenants with appropriate containers for compost storage, based on the number of units.
Yes. For buildings serviced in the courtyard with wheeled trash bins, it is possible to request an additional pickup.
You can submit a request online or call 311.
Recognized for its quality of life, Gatineau is a city of 298,000 inhabitants. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River, and extends east and west of the Gatineau River.
