Sitting at an altitude of 1045 metres above sea level, with close proximity to the mountains to the west, Calgary can have significant snowfall and other precipitation events. Calgary averages 112 days and 419 mm of rainfall in a year, which can enter your roll-off bin. This can mess with the distribution of weight in the bin, as well as making it significantly heavier (which can result in weight overage fees). Consider tarping your dumpster before a rainfall event, or renting one with a lid. Keep up to date on weather events in Calgary on Environment Canada's website.

Calgary, like other cities in the plains and foothills of Alberta, experiences quite severe weather extremes and swings over the course of a year, and often from day to day. Locals know that the warm Chinook winds that come over the Rocky Mountains to the west often create snow melt in the winter months that freezes overnight. Be careful to avoid the roll-off bin freezing onto your property, or waste freezing to the bin itself and incurring a fee from the hauler when they can't haul it away or remove it from the bin. 

Local regulations in Calgary permit placing a dumpster on your own property, but you should take caution if you're looking to have it placed on public property, like on the street in front of your home, or in the back lane. The City of Calgary provides street permits for this at a charge of $27 + GST per day. You can find more and up to date information on the City of Calgary website.

If you have a fire hydrant on or near your property, remember when placing a dumpster on your property or on a public right of way in Calgary that the City of Calgary requires a two metre clearance in front of and to the sides of a fire hydrant and one metre behind. Fines for obstructing a hydrant range from $100 to $250 and more information about this bylaw can be found on the City of Calgary website.

There are three landfill facilities in the Calgary area - Shepard landfill, East Calgary landfill, and Spyhill landfill. In addition to these facilities, there are numerous Community Recycling facilities, "Throw-as-you-go" drop-off locations, private recycling facilities for metals, construction materials/aggregates, and other materials, as well as private recycling operated by some local dumpster companies, such as Performance Waste Management.

The City of Calgary also provides a local roll-off bin service, with 20, 30, or 40 cubic yard dumpsters available. These can be requested by calling the local municipal services line at 311 from Monday to Saturday. More information can be found on the operations subpage on the "for business" section of the City of Calgary website.

Although Calgary proper is very urban - with good road access, mapping, and consistent address formats for different plots - if your property is located in a more rural location on the outskirts of town such as towards Springbank to the west, Chestermere to the east, Airdrie to the north, or among the new developments in the south such as Belmont - be sure to clarify with the hauler on where your address is located, make sure the road access can facilitate a hauling truck, and to watch out for fuel or "out-of-town" surcharges.

Consider what time you request drop-off or pickup, as certain main roads in Calgary such as MacLeod Trail, Glenmore Trail, Sarcee Trail, Blackfoot Trail and even major highways such as Deerfoot Trail and Stoney Trail can get backed up during peak hours.