Solid Waste Diversion

Maintaining, operating, replacing, and expanding our infrastructure is costly and must be considered as a long-term investment. Reducing the amount of solid waste we produce is by far the most effective way to extend the lifetime of our landfill. Zero waste protects the environment. It reduces our climate impact, conserves resources, and minimizes pollution.

Diverting waste by recycling and composting can help reduce the impact of solid waste on the environment.

To be effective, we need to incorporate the principles REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE into our daily routine. This means reducing and reusing materials and packaging wherever possible.

You can also help create a circular economy by purchasing recycled and recyclable products and letting businesses and institutions know when they can improve their practices to conserve resources and protect the environment.

FoodCycler Municipal Resident Guide

FoodCycler Program Explanation

Single Use Plastics Poster

Yukon Hazardous Waste Day Guide

Composting

Composting can divert up to 50% of waste from the landfill.

Community Compost
A community compost is available at Quigley Landfill. You can also drop off your compost at one of our three compost bins located

Bottom of Dome Road
Parking lot of the Art & Margaret Fry Recreation Centre
Dredge Pond Subdivision

Please note — ONLY compostable (not biodegradable) bags can go in the compost.

What can you put in the community compost?

Food Soiled Paper Products: paper bags, paper napkins, paper towel, parchment and waxed paper, pizza boxes, newspaper, used paper dishes (no plastic coating)
Food and Plant Items: Dairy products, including cheese and yogurt, egg shells, fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, fish and seafood shells,
noodles, rice, beans, grains and bread, small amounts of fat and oil, teabags, coffee grounds and filters, tissue paper (no blood or fecal matter),
plant trimmings, leaves and grass clippings, short branches and pruning, plants of weeds and flowers, sawdust and woodchips
Specially Designed COMPOSTABLE Products: compostable spoons, cups, plates, paper plates with no plastic coating, compostable takeout containers, compostable bags

What can you NOT put in community compost? Toilet paper, pet feces & fecal matter, cigarettes, carcasses, glass, plastic, biodegradable plastic bags, plastic coated paper items, and hazardous waste.

Backyard Composting
You can also compost in your back yard. Back yard composting:

produces an excellent free soil conditioner that will improve soil and the plants growing in it
can reduce household garbage by one-third to one-half

E-Waste

Facilities, Locations & Hours

Recycling Depot:
Lot 11 Rabbit Creek Road

Hours:

Wednesday to Saturday
11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
**Drop-off only available during hours of operation**

Waste Disposal, Composting, Free Store:

Quigley Landfill
116 Quigley Drive
Approximately 10 km from downtown Dawson on the Klondike Highway

(Winter) Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
11PM to 6PM

(Summer) Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
12PM to 7PM

Compost Bin Locations:

Quigley Landfill - 116 Quigley Drive
Parking Lot of Art & Margaret Fry Recreation Centre - 1054 Fourth Avenue
Bottom of Dome Road
Dredgepond Subdivision

Fats, Oils & Greases

Free Store

Located at Quigley Landfill, the Free Store is a place where you can drop off stuff you don’t want anymore and pick-up things you do want for FREE. Essentially, this is a “store” where everything is free! We hope by having this space it will help to reduce consumption.

Some common items that you can find at the store are: clothing, footwear, sporting gear, towels and blankets, office supplies, kitchen ware, electronics, lamps, textbooks and novels, etc.

Items dropped off should be in a clean and working condition.

Community volunteers work very hard to keep the Free Store clean and organized. When looking through items, we ask that you please try to keep things in the order you found them.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste is NOT accepted at Quigley Landfill.

Most households and businesses have hazardous waste. It could be used oil from vehicles, fluorescent light bulbs, expired bear spray, cleaning products, and many others.

Hazardous Waste does not belong in your garbage, recyclables, or compostables. Placing these items into the landfill has the potential to cause harmful effects to human and environmental health.

To find out more about what is considered hazardous waste, Household Hazardous Waste Days, and what you can do, view the Yukon Hazardous Waste Day Guide (see below).

For notices of upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Days, please subscribe toe-news or follow City of Dawson Public Works on Facebook. Notices will also be posted throughout the community.

Pick Up Programs

Residential and Commercial Garbage Pick Up Program:
The City of Dawson provides a residential and commercial garbage pickup program within the historic town site. Central garbage bins are provided for residents in country residential subdivisions.

Commercial Paper and Recycling Pick Up Program:
The City of Dawson does not provide this program. If you would like this service, there are private companies available for hire.

Recycling and Organics Pick Up Program:
The City of Dawson does not provide this program. If you would like this service, there are private companies available for hire.

Recycling

As we divert more recyclable and compostable material, the amount of waste landfilled goes down.

The City of Dawson offers a recycling depot in Dawson located at Lot 11 Rabbit Creek Road.

The current hours of operation at the Recycling Depot are:
Wednesday- Saturday
11am- 6pm.

Drop-off and refund collection is only available during hours of operation. Dropping off outside of the hours of operation is considered illegal dumping and hazardous to our local wildlife.

Please respect our local wildlife and refrain from dumping after hours.

Recycling Guide 2024