Cleaning the Capital

Join the thousands of community volunteers who demonstrate their civic pride by taking an active role in keeping our city clean and green. This year, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Cleaning the Capital campaign!

Register your cleanup project for the Cleaning the Capital 2023 Spring campaign by May 1.   Then, get cleaning between April 15 – May 31!   Cleanup kits which include garbage bags, recycling bags, and gloves, will be made available for pick-up at ten City of Ottawa facilities. This year, based on participant survey data and demand, we are including three additional pick-up locations for cleanup kits.

Important Cleanup Project Tips:

• If you can, please set out all collected waste/litter at your home on your regularly scheduled waste collection day. Remember to respect the six-item limit. Visit Garbage and Recycling for more information.
• If you can’t take it home, or if you have collected large quantities of waste/litter, please contact the Cleaning the Capital team at [email protected] (email is preferred!) or 613-580-2424, ext. 13458 on the day of your cleanup so that we can arrange for on-site pick-up.  Remember to provide your registration number, quantity of bags, exact pickup location, and a photo of the waste/litter you have collected. Please note: Waste/litter pick-up will occur during regular business hours (Monday to Friday). Pick-up requests submitted on weekends will be actioned on the next business day.
• Leave the leaves! Leaves should be left in open spaces that are maintained by the City, including parks, and in all naturalized and natural areas. Fallen leaves provide food and shelter for many species of butterflies and bees.
• Save your registration code to submit the online Cleanup Report for each project you completed by June 15, 2023.  Cleanup reports help staff measure the impact of this campaign.