If a City of Oshawa officer left you a work order about junk on your property, it came under the Lot Maintenance By-law. It says what has to go and the date it has to be gone by. This page is how to meet that date — and what happens if you do not.
This is the Oshawa rule, not a Durham one. The Region does not write these orders. If you just want junk gone and nobody has given you a date, junk removal in Oshawa is the booking page and curb, Ritson Road, or hire is the comparison.
What the order is
By-law 127-2007 says an owner may not allow waste on a lot. When an officer finds it, they can issue a work order that sets out:
- what the problem is, in enough detail to identify it
- the work that has to be done
- the date it has to be done by
There is no fixed number of days in the by-law. The officer picks the date. The order takes effect the day it is handed to you, or on the third day after it is mailed.
A lot maintenance work order is not the same as a property standards order. Property standards cover the building — roofs, heating, stairs, railings — under a different by-law with its own appeal form. Junk in the yard is lot maintenance.
What counts as waste
The by-law's definition is broad. It includes anything unwanted, discarded, or unusable, and names these specifically:
- discarded furniture and appliances
- material from building, renovating, or tearing down a structure, including fences
- rubble: concrete, brick, asphalt, patio slabs, sidewalk slabs
- discarded mechanical equipment and parts, furnaces, pipes, and tanks
- grass clippings, brush, and garden refuse
- paper, cardboard, clothing, cans, glass, and plastic
- unlicensed vehicles in disrepair, and vehicle parts
We do not tow. An unlicensed car goes to a tow truck or a scrap yard, not our trailer. Loose parts with no fluids in them can go, and we take up to ten tires in a load.
What happens if you miss the date
The City can have the work done without further notice, at the owner's expense. The owner owes those costs plus 15% interest, and the City can add the total to the property tax roll and register it as a lien on the property. Missing the date on a work order is also an offence under the by-law.
The City's contractor sets that price, not you, and not our published card. If you cannot make the date, call the officer named on the order before it passes. The by-law lets the City rescind an order; it does not promise an extension, so do not count on one.
Three ways to meet the date
The City curb. Free, but only for what the Large Item Collection takes: six items per collection on houses and buildings of eight or fewer units, booked at least two business days before your garbage day. Collections are every other week on your garbage day, so check that one lands before the order date. Construction debris, drywall, rubble, tires, and bags of garbage are refused.
Measure before you book. The City's page says items can be up to 3 m and 70 kg. The Waste Collection By-law, as amended in 2025, is stricter: large items no heavier than 45 kg or longer than 1.8 m, and appliances no heavier than 70 kg or longer than 1.8 m. Go by the smaller numbers.
Drive it to Ritson Road. The Oshawa Waste Management Facility is at 1640 Ritson Road North. The Region publishes the rates: $7 under 40 kg, $175 per tonne for general waste, $375 per tonne for fill such as concrete and brick. Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Debit or credit only — no cash. If it fits in your vehicle and you can lift it, this is the cheapest way to meet any date.
Hire. Same published card as the rest of Durham: minimum $109–$169, quarter trailer $209–$309, half $379–$489, full 15-yard trailer $629–$799, before HST. Rubble is quoted by weight, not by how full the trailer looks. Oshawa is home base, so today or tomorrow is often possible if photos come in early.
| Your situation | Route that meets the date |
|---|---|
| Six items or fewer, and a booked collection lands before the date | City curb, free |
| It fits in your vehicle and you can lift it | Ritson Road, Tuesday to Saturday |
| Reno debris, rubble, or a shed that came down | Ritson Road, or hire — the curb refuses it |
| A yard full, no truck, or the date is this week | Hire |
Do not move it to the curb early
Dragging the pile from the yard to the boulevard does not fix the order. It adds a second problem. Under the Waste Collection By-law, nothing goes out before 6 p.m. the night before collection or after 7 a.m. on the day, and anything not collected has to be off the curb by 8 p.m. Penalties start at $125, then $225, then $325 for repeats within a year.
If you are the landlord
The order goes to the owner, even when the tenant left the pile. Rentals around Durham College and Ontario Tech need a rental housing licence and get inspected, so a lawn full of move-out furniture gets noticed.
If the tenancy ended through the Landlord and Tenant Board, check the hold before anything is thrown out — the eviction guide has the 72-hour rule. An end-of-term student house is its own job: student rental cleanouts.
If it is your neighbour's yard
Contact Service Oshawa at 905-436-3311 or online. Give your name, address, and phone number, the address of the property, and what you are seeing. Anonymous complaints are not investigated. Your details are kept confidential.
We only clear a yard for the owner, or someone the owner has authorized. We cannot take a neighbour's junk away for you, however long it has been there.
What we will not take
Hazardous waste, asbestos, and vehicles stay off the trailer. What we cannot take has the full list and where each item goes instead. Paint and propane are free at Ritson Road in a separate drop.
Got the order and the date is close? Send photos of the yard and the order date. We will tell you whether we can make it.
Frequently asked questions
We run junk removal across Durham Region — Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Uxbridge, Scugog, and Brock. We price jobs from customer photos so the number you're told is the number you pay.