According to Alfred, the problem is that condos often put recycling bins and green bins in areas that are difficult for residents to find or difficult to access.

"It's often easier for residents just to put their trash down the garbage chute," she said. For years, the City of Toronto has said it's working toward diverting 70 per cent of trash from landfills to recycling. So far it has fallen far short of that goal, with a residential diversion rate of just 53 per cent in 2014, according to the city's website.

Just 26 per cent of the waste from residential high-rises gets recycled in Toronto, according to the TEA.

But city officials said they're doing a much better job of diverting recyclable waste from Toronto's Green Lane landfill just outside London, Ont. Right now, about 50 truckloads of Toronto trash gets dumped at Green Lane.