Yard Waste

The latest information about Yard Waste can be found on COVID-19: Changes to City Services – Garbage, Recycling & Organics.

Quickly find out when to set out your yard waste

 

The City picks up yard waste every other week on garbage collection day from mid-March to mid-December as well as Christmas trees in January. The yard waste that is collected is turned into compost, some of which is offered to the public for free at Community Environment Days. The City’s yard waste program allows it to divert approximately 80,000 tonnes of yard waste from landfill each year.

  • Leaves
  • Small tree limbs, trunks, stumps (see disposal tips below)
  • Plant material including weeds and brush
  • Mulch
  • Pumpkins, corn stalks
  • Christmas trees (in January)

These materials should not be put in yard waste or garbage:

  • Grass clippings
  • Sod
  • Soil (remove excess soil from pulled weeds)

Tip: Leave grass clippings on your lawn to help build healthy, nutrient rich soil.

  • Place yard waste in kraft paper yard waste bags or rigid open-topped containers (with an external height no less than 55 centimetres and no greater than 95 centimetres, with the exception of blue and grey boxes previously used for recycling). No cardboard boxes or plastic bags.
  • Place items next to your Garbage Bin for pick-up on your collection day.  Yard waste should not be placed out earlier than 8 p.m. the night before your collection date.
  • Store yard waste on your own property (close to your home) between collections, not on City property.
  • Secure brush and branches in bundles no longer than 1.2 metres (4 feet), no wider than 0.6 metres (two feet) and no heavier than 20 kilograms (44 lbs).
  • The diameter of wood set out for collection cannot exceed 7.5 centimetres (three inches). For items that exceed this size, make arrangements with a private company.
  • If you live between Finch in the north, Martin Grove in the east, HWY 401 in the south and HWY 427 in the west and have wood that exceeds the maximum size accepted at the curb, you must call 311 for proper disposal instructions as that area is affected by the Asian Long-Horned Beetle infestation.

Note: Residents employing landscaping contractors to maintain their properties are responsible for making sure contractors follow the rules as well.