Waste Collection
Garbage and Recycling Schedule
A few reminders:
- Collection begins at 6 a.m.
- Wheeled bins must be placed no earlier than 5 p.m. the previous day.
- The bin must be placed within the property limits, at the driveway entrance, with the wheels and handle facing the house.
- Once the bin is emptied, it must be removed and placed more than three metres from the right-of-way.
- The schedule runs from February 2024 to January 2025.
To save or print the schedule
To view the schedule
Electronic devices collection of and confidential documents shredding
Twice a year (during the long weekends of National Patriots' Day and Thanksgiving), the Town of Brome Lake organizes an event where you can dispose of your outdated electronic items and documents in complete confidentiality.
Watch the calendar for details!
Residual Materials
Types of residual materials and disposal methods
| Type of residual materia | What | How | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household waste | Any waste or garbage that cannot be recycled | In black or green rolling bin | According to schedule. Every two weeks from March to November, and every four weeks from November to March. |
| Green residues | Dead leaves, yard waste and Christmas trees | Mandatory in solid paper bags specially designed for this type of residue. The branches should be tied securely with rope (no plastic or metal fasteners) in an 18-inch diameter by 4-foot package. Green waste can be upgraded to provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to landfills. | See calendar for special collection dates or dispose of them at the Brome-Missisquoi ecocentre (only for leaves in paper bags designed for this purpose and the Christmas trees from which the decorations are removed). |
| Large scrap or “bulky items” |
| You must place the large refuse next to your waste bin. | Exclusively on the scheduled collection dates or at the Brome-Missisquoi ecocentre (see dates and opening hours). |
| Household Hazardous Waste | Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is a substance or object that may be harmful to human health and the environment. Ex: paint, dye, solvents or thinners | The product must be placed in its original container. If not, mark the type of product on the airtight container. For a large quantity of oil, you can contact the SOGHU at This collection is reserved EXCLUSIVELY to the residents. Greener Alternative to Landfill Centres. | At the Brome-Missisquoi ecocentre (see dates and opening hours). |
| Electronic devices and components | All electronic and computer equipment | Return only electronic and computer devices, which will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way or valued if they can be reused Greener Alternative to Landfill Centres | At the Brome-Missisquoi ecocentre (see dates and opening hours). |
| Organic waste | Organic materials that can be composted or recovered | Now that the selective collection is offered, you can dispose of permitted organic matter in a 240-litre brown tank. (With the exception of green residues which are already collected on specific dates) |
Paper bags for green waste, garbage and recycling bins
Paper bags for green waste: if you want to dispose of green waste such as leaves in the fall, make sure you use paper bags designed for this purpose.
How to position your bin:
- At the driveway, curb or sidewalk.
- Wheels towards the residence, with the lid closed and no objects on the bin.
- One metre away from all objects, especially cars, to avoid breakage.
- When there are two bins, place one next to the other, one metre apart.
- Never place objects on the ground next to the bin: they will not be collected, except during special collections.
Which bins to buy for recyclables or household waste?
- 240- or 360-litre wheeled bins
- Use a blue bin for recyclables and a black one for household waste.
Bins are available at:
- Rona (601 Knowlton Rd)
- Home Hardware (250 Knowlton Rd)
Recycling
When it comes to the environment, every little thing counts. Every item you recycle or give a second life to is one less item that ends up in landfills. It's everyone's responsibility to reduce our ecological footprint.
Did you know that the municipality receives a subsidy for every tonne of recycled materials collected on its territory? The city redistributes this subsidy directly from the recycling tax. The more you recycle, the more you reduce your tax bill.
The next time you're at the grocery store or other retail outlet, choose raw, unpackaged or non-overpackaged items. Recycling is great, but if we can reduce our consumption at source, that's even better!
Consult the list of accepted recyclables.
Ecocentre
The ecocentre is a site where you can dispose of various residual materials free of charge, while promoting their reuse, recovery and repurposing. This helps avoid filling up landfill sites unnecessarily, while reducing our ecological footprint.
The ecocentre serving Town of Brome Lake is located in Cowansville. Full details of the regional ecocentre can be found on this page.
Glass
Glass containers and bottles can now be deposited in a specially designed container! The container is located in the parking lot of the IGA grocery store (461 Knowlton Rd).
Here's a list of the types of glass accepted
- Wine bottles
- Condiment jars and Mason-type jars
- Glass food containers
No need to remove labels or lids.
These products are NOT accepted:
- Lightbulbs
- Glasses
- Pyrex glass
- Windshields
- Mirrors
- Television screens
The Town of Brome Lake does business with 2M Ressources, to which it sends the glass collected in its container. The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu-based company sorts the incoming material according to quality and colour. The glass is cleaned and crushed to various particle size standards. The result of this process can then be used for:
- Aggregates used in the manufacture of concrete
- Insulation and filtration products
- Bottles and containers
- Production of abrasives
Citizens are strongly encouraged to bring their glass to the container; however, it is ALWAYS possible to put it in the blue bin.
What to Put in Your Brown Bin?
Any type of food, whether fresh, expired, raw or cooked, can be placed in your brown bin, as can any paper or cardboard that may have been used in a food context, regardless of whether it's soiled. This is the case, for example, with pizza boxes.
Animal litter and waste can also go in the bin, either loose or in paper bags, but not in plastic bags, even if they are compostable. Plastic bags, whether biodegradable, compostable or plant-based, are not accepted at the composting platform, even if the box states “accepted in municipal programs”. We recommend using paper bags or newspaper.
Here's the explanation from the MRC Brome-Missisquoi:
The Zone Éco composting facility in Cowansville is unable to accept materials packaged in such bags, due to odours issues that are completely different when opening plastic bags.
For this reason, the certificate of authorization granted by the Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) does not allow it to accept materials in “plastic” bags.
More importantly, the degradation cycle for compostable or biodegradable “plastic” bags is much longer than for other materials. As a result, shreds of the said bag end up in the finished product at the end of the composting cycle, which is undesirable. Subsequently, it's difficult to sift them all out.
Consult the complete list of accepted and refused materials or the compost page on the Brome-Missisquoi MRC website.
Some Winter Recommendations
Cold temperatures can cause contents to congeal at the bottom of the bin, preventing normal collection. There are a few things you can do to avoid this:
- Avoid putting liquid residues in your brown bin;
- Wrap your waste in newspaper or a paper bag;
- You can freeze your food in a dish in the freezer before placing it in your brown bin;
- Line the bottom of your brown bin with several sheets of newspaper or pieces of cardboard to absorb moisture and help food detach during lifting.
A Few Practical Tips
- Download the Ça va où mobile application launched by RecycQuébec, available on the App Store and Google Play
- Consult tips and tricks from the Brome-Missisquoi MRC
- the papillote trick by clicking here (in French)
- To package your materials and make your own paper bags, see the video below â
- YouTube video
