If you are looking for the Cobourg dump, it is not in Cobourg. Garbage, organics and leaf and yard waste in Cobourg are handled by Northumberland County, and the County runs three drop-off sites it calls Community Recycling Centres: Brighton, Bewdley and Seymour, near Campbellford. The Brighton site is also home to the County's only active landfill, so it is the closest thing the area has to "the dump."
This guide covers what each site takes, how the County charges, the proof of residency you need, what curbside collection in Cobourg allows, and where hazardous waste goes. The facts on County and Town services come from the Town of Cobourg and Northumberland County waste pages, linked as we go. Rates and hours change, so check the current details before you go.
Who handles what in Cobourg
The Town's garbage and recycling page splits it this way:
- Northumberland County: garbage, organics (the green bin), and leaf and yard waste.
- Circular Materials Ontario: recycling, which as of 2026 includes new items like chip bags, bubble wrap and food pouches.
For anything that does not fit at the curb, such as hazardous waste, electronics and bulky items, the Town points residents to the County's Community Recycling Centres.
The County's three recycling centres
The County's Community Recycling Centres page lists three sites any Northumberland County resident can use:
- Brighton Community Recycling Centre, 1112 County Road 26, north of the 401. This is the County landfill, where all curbside garbage ends up. It is the only site that accepts dumping trailers.
- Bewdley Community Recycling Centre, 7650 County Road 9, Bewdley. It operates as a transfer station and cannot take trailer dumping.
- Seymour Community Recycling Centre, 344 5th Line West, Campbellford. Also a transfer station, with no trailer dumping.
From Cobourg, Bewdley is north toward Rice Lake and Brighton is east along the 401. The trailer rule is the one to plan around. If you are hauling a dump trailer, Brighton is your only County option.
Hours at the time of writing:
- Brighton and Bewdley: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Seymour: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The sites close on the holidays the County lists, and it also sets aside two staff training days a year when all the centres are closed. The next one is Monday, Dec. 14, 2026.
Proof of residency and payment
Bring ID. The County requires proof of a local residence or business address in Northumberland County every time you drop off waste or recycling. Accepted documents for residents include:
- A driver's licence.
- A water, gas, electricity, internet or phone bill.
- A municipal tax bill.
- A lease agreement, valid for up to one year.
Small businesses need an original signed letter on company letterhead with a Northumberland County address. Contractors need a signed contract, work order or invoice showing the address of the Northumberland property they are working on.
The centres take debit and credit only. Leave the cash at home.
How Northumberland dump fees work
The County's rate table, effective April 1, 2026, charges by weight in two steps: a flat fee for loads under 100 kg, and a per-tonne rate above 100 kg. The current figures are on the Community Recycling Centres page.
How your load is classified matters:
- Garbage, drywall, scrap metal and white goods, bulky plastic and commercial recycling share the standard rate.
- Leaf and yard waste costs less.
- Unseparated loads, where everything is mixed together, are charged a per-tonne rate roughly double the garbage rate at the time of writing.
- Mattresses and box springs carry a per-item charge on top of the tipping fee.
Some things are free: household recycling, electronics, tires, clothing, and household hazardous waste on its designated days.
The takeaway is the same as at most Ontario landfills. Separate before you go. Pull out the metal, the electronics, the tires and the yard waste, and the mixed load you were about to pay the top rate for gets lighter and cheaper. Our scrap metal recycling guide and tire disposal guide explain what to set aside.
Furniture, mattresses and appliances
The County's recycling centres take bulky waste items, which is the route for furniture and appliances that will not fit in a tagged bag. How they are charged depends on the item:
- The rate table does not list furniture as its own category, so ask at the scale how your load will be classed. Keeping it separate from other material avoids the unseparated rate.
- Scrap metal and white goods, meaning large appliances, have their own line on the table.
- Mattresses and box springs carry a per-item charge on top of the tipping fee.
- Clothing is free, so pull it out of any cleanout pile before it gets weighed with the rest.
A single chair or a dishwasher is an easy trip. A whole basement of furniture is a different job, and it is worth thinking about whether a bin or a crew is cheaper than several weigh-ins. Our guides to mattress disposal and appliance disposal cover the details, including the refrigerant rules for fridges and freezers.
Hazardous waste and electronics in Northumberland
The County's hazardous waste page says household hazardous waste is accepted year-round at two centres, on set days:
- Bewdley: Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Brighton: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seymour takes hazardous waste only at special events, and the 2026 events have already run. Electronic waste is accepted year-round at all three centres.
The County sets daily limits per vehicle: 50 litres or 25 cans, and 40 fluorescent tubes or CFL bulbs. Gas and oil containers can be no larger than 18 litres, and the containers are not returned. Sort your materials by type before you arrive, and put syringes in a labelled, sealed container. These drop-offs are for Northumberland County residents only.
Accepted items include automotive fluids and batteries, household and vehicle batteries, paint and solvents, propane and butane tanks, cleaners, pool chemicals, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs and smoke detectors. LED and incandescent bulbs go in regular garbage. Our household hazardous waste guide covers safe packing and transport.
Curbside collection in Cobourg
For everyday garbage, the curb is still the cheapest route. The County's garbage page sets the limits:
- Up to two bags of garbage per week, each with a County bag tag.
- Each bag must weigh less than 20 kg (44 lbs). Household-sized bags only, as contractor bags are not accepted.
- Garbage cans can be no larger than 80 litres, with the tag on the bag, not the can.
- Tags must be visible, wrapped end-to-end around the neck of the bag.
- Waste goes to the roadside by 7 a.m. on collection day. Anything placed on a snowbank will not be collected.
Bag tags are sold online and at stores across the County, including Cobourg Town Hall, County Headquarters on Courthouse Road and many local grocery and convenience stores. The County caps the handling fee vendors can add, and tags ordered online take three to four weeks to arrive by mail.
Two bags a week is not much. Recycling and the green bin carry no charge: the County's garbage page describes recycling as unlimited and allows up to two full green bins each week. Diverting what you can is how you stay under the limit.
Leaf and yard waste is picked up free once a month, from mid-April to mid-December, according to the County's main garbage and green bin page. The County's diversion programs are aimed at stretching the life of the Brighton landfill, its only active landfill, to about 2034 or 2035.
Port Hope, Grafton, Colborne and the rest of the County
The same County system covers most of Northumberland, so these rules are not unique to Cobourg. The County's garbage and green bin page says it provides weekly curbside pickup across its member municipalities, with one exception, the rural ward of Port Hope. Residents of Grafton, Colborne, Baltimore, Brighton, Campbellford, Warkworth and urban Port Hope use the same bag tags, the same two-bag limit and the same three recycling centres.
The County's garbage page lists bag tag sellers by municipality, from the Alnwick/Haldimand office in Grafton to the Cramahe office in Colborne and stores in Baltimore and Bewdley. If you are new to the area, that list is the quickest way to find tags close to home.
If you live in the Port Hope Rural Ward, your services are different. The Hope Transfer Station is run by the Municipality of Port Hope and is open only to Rural Ward residents.
Before you drive to a recycling centre
A short checklist saves a wasted trip:
- Pick the right site. A dump trailer means Brighton. Hazardous waste means Bewdley on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, or Brighton on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday.
- Check the hours and holiday closures, including the Dec. 14 training day.
- Bring proof of a Northumberland address, plus a debit or credit card.
- Separate the load before it gets weighed: garbage, scrap metal, yard waste, electronics, tires, clothing and recycling.
- Pack hazardous products by type, in sealed and labelled containers, and stay under the daily limits.
- Tarp the load and tie it down before you pull out of the driveway.
And keep it legal. The County asks residents to report illegally dumped garbage, and it says people who dump illegally face fines under its waste by-law. A trip to Bewdley is always cheaper than that.
When a bin beats a trip to Brighton or Bewdley
A drop-off is the right call for small, sorted loads. A few bags over your weekly limit, a carload of electronics, a set of old tires: take them to Bewdley or Brighton and you are done in an hour.
A bin starts to make sense when:
- The job is a renovation. Drywall and mixed debris add up fast, and two bags a week will never keep up.
- You have a dump trailer's worth of material but no trailer. Bewdley and Seymour cannot take trailer dumping anyway.
- The material is mixed and you do not have time to separate it. Unseparated loads pay the top rate.
- The cleanout runs for days. A bin sits in the driveway while you work, and nobody has to drive to Brighton every evening.
Hazardous waste is the exception. Paint, chemicals, propane tanks and batteries go to the County's hazardous waste days, not into our bins or bags.
Our roll-off bins come in 10, 15 and 20-yard sizes. A standard rental is five days with 1 metric tonne of disposal included, and every bin goes down on boards to protect your driveway. For a smaller pile, a Bam Bag holds up to 1 tonne. If you want the junk carried out for you, our Cobourg junk removal team handles it. Our junk removal versus bin rental guide helps you pick.
Prices are on our Cobourg page, and we deliver across Northumberland, including Port Hope, Grafton, Colborne and Baltimore. Call our Cobourg division at (289) 771-2467, tell us what you are clearing out, and we will tell you whether a bin or a drop-off makes more sense.
