Niagara Region | Spring 2025 | niagararegion.ca

Spring 2025 Issue

Get ready for spring cleaning!

Spring cleaning and decluttering usually means extra household waste. Niagara Region provides convenient services at the curb and depots to help keep your homes and neighbourhoods beautiful and make spring cleaning a breeze.

Large item collection

Did you know that getting rid of large household items is only a click or call away? Our large item collection service offers a curbside solution for residents in single-family homes and apartments in buildings with six units or less, allowing disposal of up to four large items per garbage collection day – completely free! Not sure if your large item qualifies for collection?  Learn about acceptable items for large item collection online or by downloading the ‘Niagara Region Waste App’.

Waste, recycling, and household hazardous waste depots

Household chemicals, large rigid plastics, electronics and fats, oils and grease can be dropped off at a Regional Waste and Recycling Drop-Off Depot or Household Hazardous Waste Depot, free of charge.

Spring is one of the busiest times at the Regional Landfills and Drop-Off Depots. Avoid wait times by planning your visit mid-week (Wednesday to Friday) when it is less busy. Remember to use the wait time tool if you're visiting the Humberstone Landfill site.

Green Bin sales and replacements

Winter can be hard on all of us, including our Green Bins. Bring your broken Green Bin or Kitchen Catcher to any of the Region's participating container distribution locations and we will replace it free-of-charge.

Don’t have a Green Bin or looking to purchase additional bins? New homeowners and renters of single-family homes or buildings with six units or less are entitled to one free Green Bin and Kitchen Catcher if they don't have them already. Purchase additional Green Bins ($19) and Kitchen Catchers ($4) online or at participating distribution locations.

Blue and Grey Boxes:

Your recycling collection contractors are responsible for the distribution and replacement of recycling containers. Visit Circular Materials' website for residential Blue and Grey Box recycling information.

Spring branch collection May 5 - 30

Branch collection is available on your regular collection day each spring and fall for residents in single-family homes and apartments with six units or less. 

Acceptable size and weight:

• Branches must be tied into bundles with string or twine 
• Maximum weight of a bundle = 22.7 kg (50 lbs)
• Maximum bundle size = 1.5 m (5 ft) in length and 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in diameter
• Individual branches must not exceed 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter

Large branches and tree limbs exceeding these limits can be dropped off at a Niagara Region Drop-Off Depot free of charge.

DeCew Water Treatment Plant Upgrades

The DeCew Water Treatment Plant, located in St. Catharines, is the largest water treatment facility in Niagara. It produces 227 million litres of clean drinking water each day to St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Beamsville.

DeCew Water Treatment Plant has been operating since 1925 and consists of three plants. Planned improvements to Plant 3, which has been in service for over 45 years without any major renovations, aim to meet modern environmental and efficiency standards.

The upgrades feature new energy-efficient pumps, lighting fixtures to replace existing ones, and additional windows to minimize reliance on artificial lighting. Improvements also include replacing outdated electric heaters, insulating existing pipes to reduce humidity and avoid dehumidification costs, and enhancing the efficiency, sustainability and resilience of water treatment with the addition of the new superstructure.

The project is a step forward in creating a cleaner, greener water treatment system for the Niagara region, ensuring that the plant continues to meet the growing needs of the community while protecting the environment.

The results are in! Automated speed enforcement in community safety zones in Niagara

The results are in from the first full year of Niagara Region’s Automated Speed Enforcement Program. Drivers are slowing down in Community Safety Zones.

The Automated Speed Enforcement program has been rotating four cameras through 13 Community Safety Zones since launching in September 2023. Traffic monitoring data collected before, during and after Automated Speed Enforcement active camera enforcement shows that drivers are slowing down and the number of speeding vehicles across the region is decreasing.

Results show:

• An average 7km/hour reduction in speed when cameras are introduced to an area
• Upon removal of the camera, average speed reduction of 9km/hour when compared to before the camera was installed
• When cameras return to an area for a second rotation-there are 86 per cent fewer speeding drivers in that Community Safety Zone

These early program results demonstrate the ongoing safety benefits of these cameras. Niagara Region Council has approved the expansion of the Automated Speed Enforcement program with eight cameras now rotating through Community Safety Zones across the region. Fines collected to date have been used to off-set program costs. Future net fines will be invested exclusively into road safety measures under the Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities on Regional Roads.