Since April 2007, as part of the GoingGREEN campaign to achieve 65 per cent waste diversion in Richmond Hill , garbage is now collected bi-weekly. Your blue box and green bin are now collected weekly. Please ensure that your materials for collection are placed at the curb by 7 a.m. on the designated day of collection for your ward. The Town distributes a calendar to all households which includes important information about our waste management programs and indicates collection days for garbage, recycling and yard waste. Calendars can also be found at most municipal facilities including libraries, community centres, the Municipal Offices and the Operations Centre or click here.

Compost is decayed organic material that can be used as a natural fertilizer for growing plants in your garden. Composting is another method used to deal with recyclable waste and can be carried out at home using a composter (which can be purchased at any hardware store or at a subsidized rate from the Operations Centre at 1200 Elgin Mills Road East). Composting has many benefits such as it is natural and does not contain pollutants that many synthetic fertilizers do. Composting also adds water and nutrient-holding capacity to sandy soils and reduces household garbage. When waste material is placed in the composter, it breaks down after a period of time and becomes a dark, moist organic material that can be used to fertilize your lawn. Examples of waste that can be composted are BROWN items such as dry leaves, straw and shredded newspaper and GREEN items such as fruit and vegetable scraps, weeds, flowers, grass clippings, and even human and pet hair.

Materials such as newspaper, boxboard, household paper, beverage cartons and drink boxes, glass bottles and jars, metal food and beverage cans (including aluminum foil), plastic bottles and jugs, plastic tubs, lids and trays, empty paint cans (with lids removed) and empty aerosol cans can all be placed in your blue box for recycling.

Materials such as newspaper, boxboard, household paper, beverage cartons and drink boxes, glass bottles and jars, metal food and beverage cans (including aluminum foil), plastic bottles and jugs, plastic tubs, lids and trays, empty paint cans (with lids removed) and empty aerosol cans can all be placed in your blue box for recycling.

Yard waste is usually collected every other week from the spring to the fall. For specific dates of collection, please click here for the Waste Management Calendar.

Blue boxes can be purchased for $10 each at the Operations Centre at 1200 Elgin Mills Road East, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about blue box recycling, please click here.

The Town of Richmond Hill collects large appliances once a month. To arrange for free monthly collection, please fill out the online form or call (905) 771-8800.

If you are having guests who will be staying overnight, you can purchase a Temporary Parking Permit either online or in person at Richmond Hill’s main Municipal Offices (225 East Beaver Creek Road, 3rd floor, Parking Control) during regular business hours, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The cost of a Temporary Parking Permit is $15 plus HST per licence plate. For full details or to purchase a permit online, visit RichmondHill.ca/TemporaryParkingPermits.

Contact staff in the Enforcement Section at (905) 771-0198. Upon receiving the complaints, the Town will send enforcement officers to measure the grass on the specified property before determining the validity of the complaint. If, at the time of the officer’s attendance at the property, the length of the grass and or weeds exceeds the 20 cm (8 inches) maximum height requirement, the officer will issue an order to cut the grass/weeds. The officer will reinspect the property for compliance after nine days. If the owner/occupant has not cut the grass to comply with the order, the officer will forward a work order to the Town’s Grass Cutting Contractor to have the property cut to comply with the by-law. All charges for the cutting and the administration of the by-law will be invoiced to the property owner.

Vehicles cannot be parked or stored on your front yard or exterior side yard other than on a designated legal driveway used to gain direct access to the garage or identified parking structure. The maximum width of a driveway should be less than 3 m for residential lots having frontages of less than 9 m; 6 m for lots having less than 18 m frontage and 9 m for lots in excess of 18 m. A minimum area of 45 per cent of the required front yard and required exterior side yard should be landscaped. The access, parking and/or storage of vehicles is not permitted on any landscaped area of any front or exterior side yard. Click here for more information.

Please click here for the Town's Municipal Code.

The type of fine will determine where it has to be paid. If the fine was assessed by a court for a by-law or Highway Traffic Act violation, the fine must be paid at a provincial court. If it is a parking fine, the fine can be paid at the Town unless you choose to go to court. If you have a parking ticket issued by the Town, you can pay directly at paytickets.ca or simply send in a cheque or pay in-person by cash/cheque on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Offices at 225 East Beaver Creek Road.

Anyone who has a question about a by-law or court, can contact the By-law Enforcement Office at (905) 771-1098.

Please contact the Town's animal control provider.

Dead animals on the roads can be reported to the Town's Roads Section at (905) 884-8013.

A property owner should apply for a building permit for the construction, demolition or addition to any building, such as installing swimming pool fences, sundecks or fireplaces, etc. Applications for permits must be made in person at the Planning & Regulatory Services Department on the 4th floor of Municipal Offices at 225 East Beaver Creek Road. Please call (905) 771-8810 or click here for more information.

Please contact zoning examiners at (905) 771-8810 or drop by to see them on the 4th floor of Municipal Offices at 225 East Beaver Creek Road.

The Building Services Section carries most property surveys depending on the age of your property. Please call (905) 771-8810 for more information.

The seasonal Community Recreation Guide lists the various activities offered at the Town's community centres. A copy of the guide is delivered to all households each season. If you require more information, call the Community Services Department's main offices at (905) 771-8870.

The Town offers many facilities where residents can exercise while meeting their neighbours and maintaining healthy lifestyles. For a listing of community centre locations, please click here.

Richmond Hill provides a number of services to you as a resident every single day and the money received from tax payments is used to pay for those services. Some of the services Richmond Hill provides include road maintenance and clearing, parks maintenance, street light operations, pools and community centres, libraries, and fire rescue and prevention. For more information on how funds are distributed, visit www.richmondhill.ca/budget.

Richmond Hill also publishes a copy of its Audited Financial Statements every year.

In addition to this, Richmond Hill also collects tax monies for upper tier governments. This includes York Region, who provide you with a group of services including health, ambulance, police as well as specific services for seniors and children and monies are also collected on behal