Common questions
Plain answers to the questions Ottawa residents actually ask: garbage rules and the three-item limit, winter parking bans, finding a family doctor, the O-Train, school boards and beach season.
Straight answers to the questions Ottawa residents look up most — garbage rules, winter parking bans, finding a doctor, the O-Train, school boards and beaches. Facts checked 11 June 2026; dated items say where they come from.
How does the three-item garbage limit work?
Since fall 2024, each household can set out up to three items of garbage per pickup, and garbage is collected every two weeks. Recycling and the green bin are different: you can set out unlimited amounts of both.
Put garbage out after 6 pm the night before, and no later than 7 am on collection day — on the ground near the road, not on top of snowbanks.
What counts as one garbage item?
One item is: a garbage bag (up to 140 litres, under 15 kg / 33 lbs), a bin or container of the same size with a lid that comes off completely, or one bulky item like a piece of furniture.
Several small bags inside one closed bin still count as a single item. Cardboard boxes can't be used for garbage — they belong in the fibres recycling bin. The one exception: a sealed box clearly marked "broken glass" can go out as a garbage item.
What if I have more than three items?
Anything over the limit must go in a City of Ottawa yellow bag — sold in packs of four for $17.60 at participating Home Hardware stores and city Client Service Centres. Extra garbage that isn't in a yellow bag is left behind with a tag explaining why.
Bulky items can't be bagged, so each one simply counts as one of your three.
My collection day changed — what happened in March 2026?
On 30 March 2026 the city switched to a new waste collection contract, and pickup days changed for roughly half of all households. How often things are collected did not change: garbage every two weeks, green bin weekly, recycling weekly (paper and cardboard one week, glass, metal and plastics the next).
Check your current schedule at ottawa.ca/CollectionCalendar or in the Ottawa Collection Calendar app — both can send reminders, in English or French. One newer rule: leaf and yard waste now goes out separately from the green bin, in paper bags or a reusable container labelled "Leaf and Yard Waste".
What is a winter parking ban, and when do they happen?
Between 15 November and 1 April, the city can declare a Winter Weather Parking Ban when Environment Canada forecasts 7 cm of snow or more, or freezing rain. Overnight bans run 7 pm to 7 am (usually called by 9 am that day); daytime bans run 10 am to 7 pm (called by about 3:30 pm). Residential parking permit holders are exempt; everyone else must be off banned streets.
It's June — file this away for November, and sign up now for the city's winter parking email alerts so a ban never surprises you.
What does ignoring a parking ban actually cost?
Cars on a banned street can be ticketed and towed right away — there is no warning ticket on the windshield first. The city doesn't publish one all-in figure, but local towing guides put the typical total (ticket, tow and fees) at roughly $265–$315 if you collect the car within 24 hours, and more once storage charges start. Appeals rarely succeed.
The safe assumption: when a ban is called, the car comes off the street.
My car disappeared overnight in winter — stolen or towed?
If a winter parking ban was on, it was most likely towed. Call 3-1-1 (613-580-2400) — they can tell you where vehicles from your street were taken. The city's winter parking pages include a guide called "How to find your car if it gets towed".
How do I find a family doctor?
Register with Health Care Connect, Ontario's official waitlist for a family doctor or nurse practitioner — online at ontario.ca, or by calling 811 any time (service en français disponible). You can also reach Health Care Connect directly at 1-888-579-6707, weekdays 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Be ready for a wait: this region's waits have been among Ontario's longest — CBC reported averages around 225 days — though the province says it is working through the list. Registering still matters; it's the one official queue.
What do I do for health care while I wait?
Call 811 (Health811) any time, day or night, to talk to a registered nurse — free and confidential, with service in French and many other languages. Walk-in clinics handle most same-day minor issues.
For an emergency, it's always 9-1-1 or the nearest emergency department.
What's the state of the O-Train, honestly?
Better than it was. Line 1 ran single-car trains from 21 January 2026 (a wheel-bearing problem) until 8 June 2026, when two-car trains returned on weekdays — every five minutes at peak. Weekends still run single-car trains for now. Lines 2 and 4 (the north–south Trillium Line and the airport link) opened in 2025.
An adult single ride is $4.10 with a PRESTO card (2026 fare) and includes 90 minutes of transfers across buses and trains; the airport station has no extra charge. Check octranspo.com/en/alerts for live disruptions before you leave.
Which school board serves my address?
All four of them — in Ottawa you choose a system, not a catchment. The four publicly funded boards are: OCDSB (English public), OCSB (English Catholic), CEPEO (French public — Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario) and CECCE (French Catholic — Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est).
Each board's website has a school locator that takes your address. The French-language boards have their own admission process for French-speaking families.
When do the beaches open, and is the water tested?
The city's supervised beaches — Britannia, Westboro, Mooney's Bay and Petrie Island — have lifeguards from 20 June to 30 August 2026, noon to 7 pm daily, per the city's posted season.
Ottawa Public Health samples beach water weekly during the season. Since 2025 it no longer tests daily or posts daily no-swim advisories, so read the signs at the beach and use judgment after heavy rain, when bacteria levels are usually at their worst.
Who do I call about city problems — and can I be served in French?
Call 3-1-1 from any phone in Ottawa (or 613-580-2400, TTY 613-580-2401) for city services: missed collection, potholes, bylaw, parking (service en français disponible — the city can serve you by phone in about 170 languages).
For anything life-threatening, call 9-1-1. The "Who to call" tool on this town page lists health, crisis and utility numbers too.