Scarborough Transfer Station: hours, fees and what it takes

Scarborough Transfer Station at a glance

The City lists seven transfer stations with public drop-off depots. The Scarborough one sits at 1 Transfer Place. Its site map shows the entrance on Nugget Avenue and the exit to Markham Road. The map is dated April 2017, so follow the posted signs and staff on the day.

The table gives the facts for this depot only. How a visit works at every depot, and the rules that apply across the City, are on the Toronto transfer stations guide.

What the Scarborough depot accepts

The City's list for Scarborough has five kinds of material. Everything else on this page is something to take somewhere else.

• Garbage: general waste, charged by weight.
• Yard waste: pieces no more than 7.5 centimetres (3 inches) across or 1.2 metres (4 feet) long, except Christmas trees. Soil, sod and grass clippings are not accepted.
• Renovation waste without drywall: baseboards, bathtubs, cabinets, countertops, doors, fencing, insulation, lumber up to 4 feet, plaster, pressure treated wood, roof shingles, siding and tiles.
• Household hazardous waste: paint, propane and other gas tanks, batteries, solvents, fluorescent tubes and similar items.
• Electronic waste: free to drop off, like household hazardous waste.

Drywall, mattresses and metal: where they go instead

Three common loads do not fit at Scarborough. Here is where the City sends each one.

• Drywall: the City accepts clean drywall, 1 tonne at most, at Bermondsey, Ingram and Commissioners only. Remove nails, screws, metal corner beads, ceramics and wood first.
• Mattresses: the City accepts them for a fee at Commissioners and Dufferin only. They should be unwrapped and unbound unless they have bed bugs, in which case wrap them in plastic. Commercial loads are not accepted.
• Metal and appliances: the City's depot list shows metal at Bermondsey, Commissioners, Dufferin and Ingram, with a fee of $142.4 per tonne on loads of 20 kilograms or more.

Fees at the Scarborough depot

Garbage and renovation waste are charged by weight at $189.86 per tonne, which the City writes as $1 per 5.27 kg or part thereof. The minimum fee of $19 covers the first 100 kg. Scales round to the nearest 5 kilograms.

You pay a deposit before you unload, at least $40 for any load, based on the size of the load and the type of material. After you unload you go back to the scale and the final fee is worked out. A receipt is printed and you get a refund or pay the difference. The City takes cash, debit, Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and rounds cash payments to the nearest dollar.

Here is the City's formula applied to a garage cleanout of 450 kg. It comes to about $85.41: $19 plus 350 kg at $1 per 5.27 kg. That figure does not include your vehicle, fuel, the loading and unloading, or your time.

Yard waste is charged at $142.4 per tonne, and loads under 20 kilograms are free. At 20 kilograms or more you pay for the full weight, not just the part above 20. Household hazardous waste and electronic waste cost nothing.

Rules for your visit

A depot is an industrial site. The City's rules that matter most for a first visit:

• Bring a safe motorized vehicle. Walk-ins, bicycles and manual transportation devices are not permitted.
• Cover and secure the load. Loads must arrive fully covered by a tarp or an acceptable alternative, and unsecured loads are refused.
• Do not mix garbage with recycling or prohibited materials. Mixed loads are not accepted.
• Expect to unload yourself. Staff direct you to the right area, but you are responsible for unloading. Only the driver may leave the vehicle in the unloading area.
• Avoid peak periods if you can. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., City-operated and contracted vehicles get priority.
• Bring protective gear. The City recommends personal protection equipment.

Or we load it and haul it away

If the drive, the sorting, the lifting and the line at the scale are not how you want to spend a day, we do the work. We are a private company, and we come to you across Scarborough and the rest of the GTA. See junk removal in Scarborough or our garbage removal in Toronto page.

Our prices are posted and priced by the load, before 13% HST. The minimum pickup is $119 for up to up to 1 cu yd with 100 kg included. A half load is $389 for about 8 cu yd and 500 kg. A full load is $599 for about 16 cu yd and 1,000 kg. Weight over the allowance is $200 per tonne. A single mattress is $99.

Send photos for a quote. We confirm the volume on site. Everything already outside at ground level and ready to load gets 10% off the load price. Same-day service is plus $50 when the schedule allows. We try to recycle what we can. We do not take hazardous waste: paint, propane, chemicals or asbestos, which is where the free hazardous waste drop-off at this depot helps.