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.
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.
Type what you’re throwing out — it tells you which bag or cart it goes in.
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:
Town Tools builds free, public tools for Lunenburg and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.
From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.town.tools/lunenburg-nova-scotia-ca/which-bin
Cardboard boxes — Flatten and tie in bundles.
Boxboard (cereal, cracker, tissue boxes)
Newspaper and flyers
Magazines and catalogues
Office and writing paper
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.