Bulky items are too large to fit into bins for collection.
How should you dispose of bulky items?
- Ecocentres: Drop off your bulky items at the ecocentre, no charge*. To find out what they will take, locations and hours, go to Ecocentres and waste transfer centre.
* Fees depend on the user, and are set out in by-law no. 61-2006 (available in French only) setting out the fees for goods, services and activities offered by Ville de Gatineau. Access to the ecocentres is free for Gatineau residents. Tagged commercial vehicles or with an “F” plate are deemed small businesses.
- Furniture stores and sellers: When you buy a new mattress or appliance, for instance, you can ask the store to take away the item you are replacing.
- Curbside and on-request pick-up: Check the options listed on this page.
- Not quite sure what to do? Consult DTRITUS to find out how to dispose of your items.
Before putting your bulky items curbside for special collections, check whether you have another option, such as reuse.
Call 311 if you would like to give your reusable or recyclable bulky items a second life. An organization mandated by Gatineau will get back to you to schedule the pick-up. It takes approximately two weeks for the pick-up after the call to 311.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bulky items must be placed outside, close to the building and sheltered from bad weather. Personnel employed by the organizations mandated by Gatineau will not enter homes. Gatineau also asks that residents clean the items to reduce the risk of contamination.
This is a free service, and is offered under a partnership between Ville de Gatineau and two social economy organizations: La Relance Outaouais and Grands Frères Grandes Sœurs de l'Outaouais. Items that are in good condition will be donated to people in need or to outreach organizations. Others will be recycled.
In good condition (for reuse):
- Garden furniture
- Large toys
- Non-upholstered wood furniture (e.g. bedframes, bookshelves, desks, chairs, dressers, tables)
- Sports equipment
In any condition:
- Above-ground metal pool panels (without the liner)
- Appliances (e.g.: air conditioners, freezers, stoves, washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, coolers, dryers)
- Barbecues (minus the propane tank)
- Bicycles
- Cast iron wood stoves and fireplaces
- Exercise equipment
- Furnaces
- Gas-powered machines (e.g. lawnmowers, snow blowers)
- Heat pumps
- Hot water tanks
- Large electronics (e.g. TV larger than 60 cm [24 inches], home entertainment systems)
- Metal bathtubs
- Metal pool filters
- Metal shed panels
- Non-upholstered metal furniture (e.g.: bedframes, filing cabinets, storage cabinets)
- Rims (without tires)
- Vacuum cleaners
- Bulky waste (acrylic or fibreglass bathtubs, garden hoses, vinyl floor covering, plastic pool filters, large plastic items (furniture, toys), mineral wool, mattresses, upholstered furniture (bedframes, couches, armchairs, chairs), vinyl siding, artificial Christmas trees, blinds, styrofoam, carpets, pool liners, etc.)
- Construction, renovation and demolition residues
- Household garbage
When in doubt, consult DTRITUS to find out how to dispose of your items.
- The organization is free to refuse any item that it deems to be in poor condition.
- Two people should be able to carry the item without the help of mechanical equipment.
- The item must fit into a truck.
The collection of construction residues has been replaced by a collection of wood and metal bulky items that are too big to fit into a bin. Please check the adjusted list of accepted materials below.
Wood and metal bulky items are sent to a sorting centre for construction, renovation and demolition residues, where they are sorted and valorized.
- Branches and tree trunks larger than 12 mm in diameter, but no larger than 10 cm
- Metal items (e.g. above-ground metal pool panels without the liner, metal shed panels, ironing boards, barbecues without tanks, filing cabinets, chairs, microwave ovens)
- Natural Christmas trees without decorations
- Non-upholstered wood furniture (e.g. bedframes, bookshelves, desks, chairs, dressers, rattan furniture, tables)
- Small electronic appliances (e.g. electric fireplaces, vacuum cleaners)
- Wood (e.g. cupboards, fences, plywood, melamine, MDF, palettes, floating floors, doors)
- Branches and tree trunks larger than 10 cm in diameter
- Bulky metal items too large or solid for the compactor truck (e.g. exercise equipment, metal bathtubs, air conditioners, appliances, rims, pool pumps, doors, coolers, hot water tanks, heat pumps)
- Bulky waste
- Compostables
- Construction residues other than wood (e.g. ceramics, gypsum, asphalt shingles, vinyl siding, flooring, insulating wool, insulating boards, concrete, bricks, interlocking stones)
- Contaminated wood (e.g. railway ties)
- Electronics
- Flat glass (e.g. windows, mirrors, patio doors, window panes)
- Hazardous household waste
- Household garbage
- Items fitted with a combustion engine or an oil or gas tank (e.g. lawnmowers, snow blowers)
- Recyclables
- Rubble, sand, asphalt, soil (contaminated or not)
- Tires
When in doubt, consult DTRITUS to find out how to dispose of your items.
Western Sector
In 2021, in the western sector, wood and metal bulky items will be collected on the same day as your recyclables in the following weeks:
- February 8
- April 5
- May 3
- June 14
- July 12
- August 9
- September 6
- October 4
- Maximum volume: Units with curbside collection are entitled to 1 m3 per collection. For buildings with containerized collection, the limit is 5 m3, regardless of the number of units in the building.
- The items must be clearly visible, not wrapped up, and arranged in an orderly and safe pile.
- Small wood and metal pieces can be placed in an open container (cardboard box, garbage can). Random bits and pieces and garbage bags are not accepted.
- Nails must be folded down or removed for the safety of the garbage collectors and sorters.
- Branches must be tied into bundles with rope.
- Two people should be able to carry the items without the help of mechanical equipment, and the items must be no more than 1.5 metres in length and weigh no more than 50 kg.
- Wood pieces and branches must be no more than 10 cm in diameter.
- Wood pieces must be disassembled (e.g. stairs, walls, fences, patios).
- Any item that could injure someone or damage the facilities or equipment during handling or processing may be refused (e.g. sharp items).
- Items must be left curbside, not near containers, whether you live in a house or a multi-unit residential building.
- Items must be put out no earlier than 7 p.m. the day before or no later than 7 a.m. on collection day. Collection is between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. If your items have not been collected, submit a request between 6 p.m. on the day of your collection and 6 p.m. the following day. If your collection is on a Friday, you have until noon on Saturday to make your request.
Bulky waste is anything that is going to landfill that is too big to fit into a household bin (gray bin). This is a last-resort solution for items that cannot be reused or recycled.
- Artificial Christmas trees
- Bathtubs (acrylic or fibreglass)
- Blinds
- Carpets
- Hoses
- Large plastic objects (e.g. furniture, toys)
- Mattresses, box springs
- Plastic pool liners and filters (emptied)
- Styrofoam* (in a transparent plastic bag)
- Upholstered furniture (e.g. couches, armchairs)
* Styrofoam can also be dropped off at the ecocentre for recovery. Détails
- Animal carcasses
- Auto parts
- Bulky metal items (e.g.: exercise equipment, vacuum cleaners, metal bathtubs, barbecues, air conditioners, appliances, rims, metal furniture, metal parts and pieces, pool pumps, doors, coolers, hot water tanks, heat pumps)
- Compostables and green residues
- Construction residues (e.g. wood, wood furniture)
- Electronics
- Flat glass (e.g. windows, mirrors, patio doors, window panes)
- Hazardous household waste
- Household garbage
- Items fitted with a combustion engine or an oil or gas tank (e.g. lawnmowers, snow blowers)
- Natural Christmas trees
- Recyclables
- Tires
When in doubt, consult DTRITUS to find out how to dispose of your items.
Western Sector
In 2021, in the western sector, bulky waste will be collected on the same days as your household garbage in the following weeks:
- February 1
- April 12
- May 10
- June 7
- July 5
- August 2
- September 13
- October 11
Eastern Sector
In 2021, in the eastern sector, bulky waste will be collected on the same days as your household garbage in the following weeks:
- January 25
- April 19
- May 17
- June 28
- July 26
- August 23
- September 20
- October 18
- Maximum volume: Units with curbside collection are entitled to 1 m3 per collection. For buildings with containerized collection, the limit is 5 m3, regardless of the number of units in the building.
- The bulky waste must be clearly visible, not wrapped up, and arranged in an orderly and safe pile.
- Random bits and pieces and garbage bags are not accepted.
- Two people should be able to carry the items without the help of mechanical equipment, and the items must be no more than 1.5 metres in length and weigh no more than 50 kg.
- Carpets must be rolled up and tied up.
- Any item that could injure someone or damage the facilities or equipment during handling or processing may be refused (e.g. sharp items).
- Items must be left curbside, not near containers, whether you live in a house or a multi-unit residential building.
- Items must be put out no earlier than 7 p.m. the day before or no later than 7 a.m. on collection day. Collection is between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. If your items have not been collected, submit a request between 6 p.m. on the day of your collection and 6 p.m. the following day. If your collection is on a Friday, you have until noon on Saturday to make your request.
The special collection of natural Christmas trees takes place during the first two full weeks of the year, on the same day that your compostables are collected. For example, in 2021, the collection was in the weeks of January 4 and 11.
If any decorations or lights are left on the tree, or if it is wrapped in plastic, it won't be collected. In the case of multi-unit residential buildings with containerized collection, the trees must be left curbside on the same day that curbside collection from residences takes place in their sector.
Why the different collections?
The goal is to valorize as many materials as possible and to reduce the volumes going to landfill. Natural Christmas trees, wood and metal items can be recycled or valorized, just like reusable or recyclable bulky items. Bulky waste goes to landfill. This is why it is important to have different collections and to follow the instructions on how and what to leave out for each collection.
DTRITUS
