Cleaning the Capital Program

On this page

Registration for Cleaning the Capital

Registration is closed. Thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the Fall Cleaning the Capital campaign! 

Sign up for the City’s eSubscription to receive program updates and information about the Spring and Fall Cleaning the Capital campaigns.

 

 

Table of Cleaning the Capital project sites, dates and times

Project site Date and time
Stoneboat Park, 1765 Stoneboat Crescent September 16, 2024, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
2429 Cléroux Crescent September 16, 2024, 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm
29 Greenpointe Drive September 16, 2024, 7:30 am - 9:00 am
886 Atrium Ridge September 16, 2024, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm
412 Sparks Street September 17, 2024, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Leslie Park September 17, 2024, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
6344 Fortune Drive September 18, 2024, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
1068 Hunt Club Road September 18, 2024, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
1217 Cobden Road September 18, 2024, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
232 Fountain Place September 18, 2024, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Program information

What is Cleaning the Capital?

The Cleaning the Capital campaign is a citywide cleanup that occurs in the spring and fall of every year. Residents come together as a community and combine efforts to make our city clean and green. Litter pickup projects must be registered, and participating teams, upon request, receive a cleanup starter kit to assist them with their projects. 

2024 marks the 31st year of the Cleaning the Capital Program! The annual cleanup campaign first began in 1994 as a springtime cleanup. In 2006, due to the spring campaign's overwhelming success an annual fall campaign was added. Since 1994, nearly 1.5 million volunteers have participated in nearly 30,000 cleanup projects throughout the city. As a result, over 1.2 million kilograms of waste has been removed from our public spaces. 

The Cleaning the Capital Program is not-for-profit initiative and relies heavily on the generosity of sponsors who offer financial and in-kind support. Cleaning the Capital is an exciting way for residents to foster community pride by cleaning up their parks, bus stops, woodlots, ravines, shorelines and pathways, while enjoying the outdoors and ensuring that Ottawa stays clean, green, and litter-free.

How you can take part

Plan it

  • Select your project site, cleanup date (rain date too!), and time.
  • Don't forget to check the interactive map to ensure there are no other cleanup projects registered at your desired project location.
  • Gather your project team! Cleaning the Capital is an ideal way for neighbours, family and friends, or colleagues to work together and clean up their community.
  • Be sure to plan ahead for the proper disposal of garbage, recycling, and any other hazardous items you may collect.  Review the instructions and options for Proper Disposal of Cleaning the Capital waste/litter  prior to your planned cleanup project.  

Register

  • Fill out the online registration form to register your project. If you need cleanup supplies, remember to request your cleanup kit and select your desired pick-up location while registering.

The importance of registering: If you're cleaning up a roadway, park, or greenspace in your neighbourhood, please register with us. Residents are encouraged to register in order to allow Cleaning the Capital organizers to distribute cleaning supplies, track the areas that have been cleaned, and recognize volunteer work.

Promote your cleanup

Do you want to promote your cleanup project? If so, we've created a poster to help you reach your cleanup goal!  Remember to seek the necessary permissions to promote your cleanup in private and public facilities.

Complete your project

  • If you requested a cleanup kit, remember to pick it up from your chosen pick-up facility. If you have questions about your cleanup kit, please contact cleaning@ottawa.ca.

Submit your cleanup report

  • Don’t forget to fill out your online cleanup report before the submission deadline.

Celebrate!

  • Celebrate your success and gear up for the next event!
  • Share photos of your cleanup project on social media using: #CleaningTheCapital #OttCity

Proper disposal of Cleaning the Capital waste/litter

Please review all information below to determine the appropriate option to dispose of your collected waste/litter.

Set waste out on collection day
  • If you can, please set out all collected waste/litter and recyclables at your home on your regularly scheduled collection day.
  • Remember to respect the residential curbside garbage collection waste limit every second week, excluding recycling.  Please note: Starting on September 30, 2024, the City of Ottawa will lower its limit for curbside garbage collection to three items on collection day from the current limit of six bags.  Visit the Garbage page for more information.
  • Please do not bring large quantities of Cleaning the Capital waste/litter home; leave the collected waste/litter at the cleanup project site and follow instructions below.

OR

Request garbage collection at the cleanup project site
  • If you have collected large quantities of waste/litter, please leave all collected waste/litter at the cleanup project site.
    • City park cleanups:  Please leave all waste/litter in the parking lot or near the entrance to the park.
    • Roadside cleanups:  Please leave all waste/litter in an accessible area along the roadway so that it can be easily collected by waste collection staff.
  • All Cleaning the Capital waste/litter must be bagged whenever possible.
  • Pick-up location must accessible and must not impede any pedestrian, cycling or vehicular traffic. 
  • Submit your pick-up request by contacting the Cleaning the Capital team at cleaning@ottawa.ca on the day of your cleanup project so that we can arrange for on-site pick-up at your project location.  Remember to provide your registration code, quantity of bags, detailed pickup location, and a photo of your waste/litter.

Please note: Waste/litter pickup will take place during regular business hours (Monday to Friday).  Pick-up requests submitted on weekends will be actioned on the next business day.

Hazardous waste
  • Please do not leave any hazardous materials at the cleanup site.  If you’re unable to dispose of these materials, please contact 3-1-1. 
  • Bring all toxic materials to one of the City’s Household Hazardous Waste events.
  • Participants can safely dispose of many kinds of household hazardous waste items by returning them to participating local retailers.  For a list of retailers who accept returns of household hazardous waste, search the item in the Waste Explorer. 

Important project and safety information

Leave the leaves, branches, and wood! 

Please “leave the leaves” in most greenspaces! Leaves should be left in open spaces that are maintained by the City, including parks, and in all naturalized and natural areas. Please only remove leaves from pathways, play structures, splash pads and catch basins. Did you know that fallen leaves make good mulch for garden beds? They also provide overwintering shelter for many species of butterflies and bees.

For more information on how “leaving the leaves” benefits pollinators: Leave the Leaves! | Xerces Society

Many of Ottawa’s parks and open spaces include areas of naturalized habitat that are only mowed once or twice per year or are not mowed at all to allow native trees and shrubs to grow. These naturalized areas are important for pollinators and other wildlife. Please keep them clean by removing any litter, but don’t “tidy up” natural materials such as dead or dormant plants, seedheads, fallen leaves and branches. Those are important habitat features that provide food and shelter to wildlife over the winter.  

Similarly, please don’t “tidy up” fallen branches or dead wood from our open spaces and natural areas. City staff will handle any potentially hazardous trees or woody debris as needed. In natural areas, leaving coarse woody debris such as dead snags, downed logs, uprooted stumps, large branches and coarse roots in place is a recommended practice which contributes to long-term forest health. Coarse woody debris is essential for sustainable natural areas and benefits them by providing the following: 

  • Slow release of nutrients over the years
  • Habitat for a wide range of wildlife
  • Growing sites for plants and fungi
  • Moisture retention

What about piles of lawn clippings and other private yard waste? If you find yard waste that has been dumped onto City property, please do remove it, and report the location to staff. Dumping yard waste into City-owned natural areas is illegal, because it can smother native wildflowers and introduce non-native invasive plants such as goutweed. Moving wood can spread invasive insects and diseases to our forests. Please help us to grow a healthy forest for the nation's capital by not dumping yard waste or moving wood. 

General safety tips

You should do everything you can to ensure that you and your project team are safe during your cleanup project. Some basic safety rules include:

  • Never touch a needle with your hands.  If you find a discarded needle or other drug paraphernalia, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) to dispatch City staff to retrieve the item(s). For more information, visit Ottawa Public Health:  Discarded Needles in our Communities.
  • Have volunteers sanitize their hands or inform them where they can use a hand washing station. 
  • Wear gloves and appropriate footwear.
  • Wear pants and long-sleeved shirts.
  • If cleaning near a roadway, wear a safety vest or bright coloured clothing and clean only the non-travelled portion of a roadway.
  • Do not lift heavy objects.
  • Supervise children in their cleanup efforts and emphasize that safety comes first.
  • There must be one adult present for every six children less than 12 years of age and you must obtain consent from the legal guardian of those participants.
  • Children must never touch items like glass, broken wood, metal, needles, or household hazardous waste. It’s a good idea to double up your garbage bags for transporting these items.
  • Be aware of your surroundings and the potential hazards (i.e. poison ivy, wild parsnip, streams and branches) and remember to put on protective eyewear as necessary.
  • The blacklegged tick that carries the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease is present in the Ottawa area, across Eastern Ontario, and the Outaouais region of Quebec.

Frequently asked questions

What types of projects are available?

Litter pickup projects in public spaces can be registered through the Cleaning the Capital program. Choose to clean our precious green spaces and community parks, roadsides, and shorelines, or choose to clean areas around bus shelters by picking up litter and cigarette butts.

Does Cleaning the Capital include shoreline cleanups?

Absolutely! Ottawa has 4,500 kilometres of streams and rivers and that doesn’t include our lakes, ponds and wetlands. Our incredible wealth of water environments calls on us as residents to be shoreline stewards. What happens on shorelines affects the quality of the water and the life it supports. If you do sign up to clean a stretch of shoreline that you love, remember that the focus is only on human litter. Leave natural elements like logs and branches in place. If you would like some guidance in picking a priority stretch of shoreline, please contact your local conservation authority:

You can also take part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

What is included in a cleanup kit?

  • Cleanup Starter Kits include: Nitrile gloves and garbage bags.  Please note, Cleaning the Capital staff are no longer distributing leaf and yard waste bags.

Cleanup starter kits are designed to get you started on your project and our generous sponsors donate the supplies. While we cannot provide unlimited supplies to volunteers, we will do our very best to ensure that you have enough supplies to complete your project. Cleanup starter kits are individually packed for each project team based on the number of volunteers you have registered.

What if I can’t find a project team?

If you can’t find a project team, try to make one yourself!  Tell your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues about your plans. Try approaching your community or neighbourhood association and asking if the whole community wants to get involved. Ask around at your children's school or your workplace or community centre.

If you still can't find a team, don't worry; many of our long-time Cleaning the Capital volunteers make an impact each and every year all by themselves. All it takes is one person to make a difference.

What is my registration code? How can I obtain it?

Your Cleaning the Capital registration code is provided to you in an email upon confirmation of your registration. It is used to submit your online Cleanup Report at the end of your project.  If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact us at cleaning@ottawa.ca.

What if I need to update my registration? 

If you need to make any changes to your registration (i.e. reschedule your cleanup project date, choose a new project location, etc.), please contact us at cleaning@ottawa.ca so that we can update your registration.  Please ensure you provide your registration number. 

What about cleaning cigarette butts?

Cigarette butts are litter too. They are not recyclable and they do not biodegrade. They are toxic and can take up to 12 years to breakdown. Remember to include picking up cigarette butts as part of your cleanup project. Make sure to wear gloves and to dispose of them in the garbage. If you are cleaning a paved area, use a broom and dust pan to sweep up the cigarette butts. If you are cleaning a grassy area, use a rake.

Student volunteer hours

Cleaning the Capital is a flexible opportunity for students to complete their community involvement hours by organizing and completing a cleanup project in their neighbourhood.

Gather a group of friends and help keep our city clean and green! 

To participate, students will:  

  1. Choose their project location and cleanup date (September 15 to October 15).  Don’t forget to check out the interactive map on ottawa.ca/clean to confirm there are no cleanups registered at your desired project location. 
  2. Register their cleanup project online at ottawa.ca/clean.  Students are only required to register one cleanup project per group. 
  3. Complete their cleanup project. The cleanup project should be completed within two to four hours. 
  4. Submit their online cleanup report by November 1, 2024: Students must include a summary of their cleanup and the full names of all students that participated in the project. 

Students will receive a confirmation of their community involvement hours via email by November 30, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact cleaning@ottawa.ca.