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Where do you take old drywall in Kitchener? The Region of Waterloo gypsum stream explained

Old drywall from a Kitchener job goes to one of the Region of Waterloo's two waste drop-off sites, where it is accepted as its own sorted stream and recycled. It is not banned and it does not go in the garbage; the only things that change that are mixing it with other debris or disturbing material that may contain asbestos.

Last updated October 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Kitchener Drywalling team

Where can I take drywall in Kitchener?

Drywall is not collected at the curb. It goes to a Region of Waterloo waste management site, and Kitchener residents can use either one: the Waterloo site at 925 Erb Street West (Gate 2 for cars, vans, pickups and single-axle trailers; Gate 1 for roll-off and dump trucks) or the Cambridge site at 201 Savage Drive, which takes all vehicle sizes. Residential hours are Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on statutory and designated holidays; commercial hours are shorter and differ by site, so a contractor hauling for you checks the Region's page before loading. Payment is debit, credit or cash, the card has to be present, and garbage tags cannot be used. Both sites accept only waste generated within Waterloo Region.

What counts as drywall at the Region's sites

The Region's drop-off page treats gypsum wallboard as a sorted stream with its own rate, charged by weight. The useful part for a renovation is what it accepts without complaint:

• Painted drywall.
• Wet drywall, from rain or snow or, in practice, from the basement leak that started the job.
• Metal screws, nails and corner bead left in the board.

What it does not accept in that stream, because it is not recyclable, is cement wallboard, wood, plastic, insulation and ceramic tile. The Region's instruction is that those should be sorted and disposed of as garbage. That list covers most of what comes off a basement wall with the drywall: the vapour barrier, the batts, the baseboard and the trim.

Why sorting the load matters

The Region charges a load of mixed materials at the highest rate in the load. Its own example is that a load with garbage and recyclables in it is charged the garbage rate. There is also a minimum fee on every load regardless of what is in it. For a Kitchener basement tear-out that means two things. First, gypsum that is kept apart from the insulation, carpet and framing is weighed and charged as drywall, and the garbage is weighed and charged as garbage, which is cheaper than throwing it all in one bin. Second, several small trips cost more in minimum fees than one well-sorted trip, so the demolition is staged: board off and stacked, then everything else bagged separately.

On a job quoted by the drywall contractor we book for Kitchener, sorting and hauling appears as its own line so you can see it. On a new-build basement in Doon South or Huron Park there is only offcut waste and it is included. On a gut of a 1960s finished basement in Country Hills, the disposal is a real part of the price. The cost page explains that split without naming the Region's rates, which change.

What about plaster, lath and old textured ceilings?

Plaster is not drywall. Lime plaster and wood lath from the century homes around Victoria Park and the East Ward do not go in the gypsum stream; they are garbage at the Region's sites and are sorted out accordingly. The bigger question on older material is asbestos. Sprayed and trowelled ceiling textures, joint compounds and patching plasters applied from roughly the 1950s to the late 1980s can contain asbestos, and vermiculite insulation found above an old ceiling is, in the Region's words, by default considered to contain asbestos unless the generator proves otherwise.

Asbestos waste follows a separate and strict process. The Region accepts it only at the Waterloo site, Gate 1, on Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a Request for Asbestos Disposal form approved in advance (received by noon the Tuesday before), sealed and labelled in two 3-mil polyethylene bags, one 6-mil bag or a lined enclosed bin, and not mixed with any other material. None of that is something a homeowner should be improvising. If a pre-1990 textured ceiling or an old patched plaster wall is coming down, a sample goes to a lab first. If it is positive, removal is done by a licensed abatement contractor under Ontario's asbestos regulation, O. Reg. 278/05, and the drywall work starts after they are finished.

Pulling damaged or dated drywall off existing walls in a finished room is finish work and does not need a building permit on its own. What triggers one is what happens next. The City of Kitchener's permit page lists re-insulating walls, ceilings or floors, removing a load-bearing wall, adding or moving plumbing and finishing the basement of a house as permit work, while removing a non-load-bearing wall in a single, semi or townhouse does not need one. So a tear-out that leads to new insulation or a new layout is a permit application before the new board goes up, and the old board can still go to the Region in the meantime.

A sensible order of operations for a Kitchener tear-out

1. If any texture, compound or plaster is pre-1990, get it tested before it is disturbed.
2. Strip trim and baseboard, and bag it as garbage.
3. Take the board off in large pieces and stack it; screws, nails and bead can stay in.
4. Pull insulation and vapour barrier separately and bag them.
5. Load drywall and garbage so they can be weighed separately, or make two trips if the vehicle cannot keep them apart.
6. Go during residential hours with a card or cash, and keep the receipt if a contractor is billing you for disposal.

What this means for your quote

A drywall quote that includes demolition should say who hauls, whether sorting is done on site and whether the Region's fees are passed through or built in. The drywall contractor we book for Kitchener handles repair and replacement jobs and full re-boards, sorts the gypsum from the rest, and will not scrape a textured ceiling without a test result in hand, which is covered on the ceiling and popcorn removal page. You can describe the room and what is coming out to arrange a site visit.

Sources

• Waste drop-off sites and programs - Region of Waterloo
• Asbestos disposal - Region of Waterloo
• When you need a building permit - City of Kitchener
• Guide to the regulation respecting asbestos on construction projects and in buildings and repair operations - Ontario.ca