Toronto – The City of Toronto reminds property owners, residents and candidates that they are responsible for removing and disposing of all election signs displayed on private property by Thursday, June 29. Candidates who have posted election signs on public property must also remove their signs by the deadline.
Election signs can be taken to select City Drop-Off Depots for recycling to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and should not be placed in the Blue Bin (recycling). Used and surplus election signs are being accepted for proper disposal at the following Drop-Off Depot locations until July 30:
- Disco Drop-Off Depot, 120 Disco Rd.
- Commissioners Drop-Off Depot, 400 Commissioners St.
- Dufferin Drop-Off Depot, 35 Vanley Cres.
- Ingram Drop-Off Depot, 50 Ingram Dr.
- Victoria Park Drop-Off Depot, 3350 Victoria Park Ave.
Location details and hours of operation are available on the City’s website.
The City accepts three types of election signs for recycling at City Drop-Off Depots and wooden and metal stakes. These include:
- Corrugated plastic (e.g. Coroplast)
- Fibre based (e.g. paperboard)
- Plastic film (e.g. sleeve style signs)
Before disposing of election signs, property owners, residents and candidates are reminded to:
- Separate signs by material, and do not bundle corrugated plastic signs.
- Separate all wooden stakes, metal supports and screws from the signs. Dedicated containers will be provided for each material.
- Consolidate plastic sleeve signs in a clear plastic bag and tie the bag when full.
- Remove all staples and dispose of them in the garbage. Staples damage recycling equipment. Any signs with staples will be considered garbage and a fee will be charged to dispose of them.
There is no fee for dropping off separated and clean corrugated plastic, paperboard and plastic film election signs and associated supports and stakes for recycling. Unseparated mixed waste that includes election signs will be charged the regular fee of $166.26 per metric tonne of material. To report election signs that are not removed on time, people may contact 311 and submit a service request, including the following information:
- The name of the candidate or the third-party advertiser displaying the election sign
- The address or location of the sign
- A description of specific landmarks if the address of the sign cannot be provided.
More information about election sign rules and disposal is available on the City’s Election Signs webpage.