Hydrovac slurry disposal in Toronto
Where to take it, what's accepted, how receiving works, and why what happens to the load after you tip it is now a compliance question. Written for dispatchers, operators and the people who sign off on where material goes.
The short answer
If you run hydrovac trucks in Toronto or the GTA, you can bring non-hazardous slurry to EcoVac Solutions at 60A Baywood Road in Toronto. We're an Ontario ECA-approved receiving facility with four tipping bays. We recover the stone, sand, clay and water in each load for reuse, and you can refill with treated water before you leave. Book on the disposal line at 647-547-1667 ext. 1.
EcoVac is an independent facility. We receive loads from more than 100 hydrovac contractors and treat every one the same way.
What hydrovac slurry actually is
A hydrovac truck breaks up soil with pressurized water and vacuums the mix into a debris tank. What comes out is liquid soil: mostly water, plus whatever was in the ground, which in the GTA usually means stone, sand, silt and clay in varying proportions. Ontario's excess soil rules use the term liquid soil for it, and it's the same material whether the job was utility daylighting, slot trenching, potholing or a pole hole.
The solids in that tank are the same aggregate, sand and fines that pits and quarries produce, temporarily suspended in water. What matters is whether the place you tip it treats them that way.
Your options in the GTA
Every load has to go somewhere, and there are three broad kinds of destination.
- Landfill or a transfer site. The load is dewatered or solidified enough to be handled and the solids are disposed of. It's the route Ontario Regulation 406/19 is progressively restricting, and it leaves you nothing to report as diverted.
- A dewatering facility. Water is separated and the remaining solids leave as one mixed material, which may be reused as dry soil where it meets the requirements or may still go for disposal.
- A full material-recovery facility. The load is separated into its component materials, each is recovered for reuse, and the water is treated and reused. This is what EcoVac does.
That choice decides whether your load counts as diverted, whether you have records that hold up, and increasingly whether a receiving site can take it at all. See the full comparison of dewatering and material recovery.
What we accept and what we don't
Accepted
- Non-hazardous hydrovac slurry (liquid soil) from hydro-excavation
- Loads from utility, municipal, telecom, gas, civil and infrastructure work
- Hydrovac trucks that fit the bays. Call ahead if you're unsure about a larger unit.
Not accepted
- Hazardous waste of any kind
- Contaminated or impacted soil
- Non-soil waste, sewage, or material from interceptor or sump cleanouts
- Loads that don't match what was booked
If you're not sure about a load, call before you send the truck. It's faster for everyone than a rejected tip.
How receiving works
The facility is laid out around turnaround time. A typical visit looks like this.
Before you arrive
Call the booking line to book a tip.
At the gate
Check in with the operator, who directs the driver to one of the four receiving bays. EcoVac staff explain our operating and safety procedures before a driver uses the facility for the first time.
Tipping
Back in, raise and tip into the receiving hopper. Your driver operates the truck under our site procedures, and our team handles everything on the receiving side.
Refill and go
Top up with treated water at the fill point and leave with a full tank. For most crews this replaces a separate stop.
What happens to the load after you leave
This is the part most receiving sites don't talk about, and the part that matters for compliance and reporting.
Slurry moves through a series of screening and washing stages. Stone comes out first, then sand, then the fine material that makes up clay. What's left is water, which is treated on site and reused in the process and for truck refills. Each solid stream is handled as its own material and managed for appropriate reuse, and our approval sets conditions on sampling and analysis so recovered material has the documentation a receiving site needs.
A load tipped at EcoVac becomes four materials that go back to work. See the recovered materials.
Ontario Regulation 406/19 and why the receiving site matters
O. Reg. 406/19, On-Site and Excess Soil Management, is the framework for excess soil in Ontario, and hydrovac slurry falls under it as liquid soil. For contractors it brings rules on how soil is managed, documented and tracked. Ontario's excess soil guidance also sets January 1, 2027 as the date from which cleaner excess soil is restricted from being landfilled.
In practice, where your slurry goes is becoming part of your compliance picture. An approved facility that recovers material, keeps records and operates within the regulation gives you a clean answer when someone asks. Read our plain-language guide to 406/19 (general information only, not legal advice).
Location and hours
60A Baywood Road, in the northwest corner of Toronto. A central location means GTA crews spend less time driving to a rural receiving site.
Hours: Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Sunday, closed
Booking line 647-547-1667 ext. 1. Recovered materials 647-547-1667 ext. 3. General enquiries info@ecovac.ca.
Common questions
Where can I dispose of hydrovac slurry in Toronto?
At EcoVac Solutions, 60A Baywood Road in Toronto, an Ontario ECA-approved receiving and recovery facility. Call 647-547-1667 ext. 1 to book a disposal.
Do I need to book, or can I just show up?
Book. It takes a minute and lets us have a bay ready, so your driver isn't stuck behind a load we didn't know was coming.
What if my load has something in it that isn't soil?
Call before sending the truck. Non-soil waste and contaminated material aren't accepted, and a rejected tip costs you more than a phone call.
Can I refill my truck with water?
Yes. Treated water is available at the fill point on the way out.
Is EcoVac a landfill?
No. We're a processing and recovery facility. Loads are separated into stone, sand, clay and water, and the solids are recovered for reuse.
Can I get documentation for my own ESG or diversion reporting?
Ask on the booking line about what's available for your loads.