Barrie Yard Waste Collection: Leaves, Bags and Timing

Barrie picks up yard waste every other week, on the weeks your garbage doesn't go out. Pickup runs until the last full week of November, then stops for December. Use paper leaf bags, a marked can up to 120 L, or a green bin. There's no limit on how many, but each one must weigh 20 kg (45 lbs) or less. Have it at the curb by 7 a.m.

How often does Barrie pick up yard waste?

Every other week. Your yard waste week and your garbage week take turns. So if garbage went out this week, yard waste goes out next week.

The season starts in the first full week of April. It ends in the last full week of November. There's no curbside yard waste pickup in December, February or March.

The City made this change in May 2024, when its new waste contract began. Before that, some people put yard waste out more often. If you moved here recently, this every other week rhythm is the main thing to learn.

How do you find your yard waste week?

Barrie gives you a few ways to check your schedule:

• The Curbside Collection Schedule Lookup Tool on barrie.ca
• The interactive map, or the map in the Waste Collection Calendar
• The City's mobile app, under "Your Collection Schedule"
• A phone call to 705-726-4242, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Look it up once and write your November pickup weeks on the fridge. With only two or three chances left this fall, a missed week hurts.

What time should yard waste be at the curb?

Put it out by 7 a.m. on your regular collection day, in your yard waste week. In the downtown BIA, the time is 4:30 a.m.

Here's the part that confuses people. The truck may not come on your day. Barrie's contractor, Emterra, can come any time up to the end of the day on Friday. It can also come early to your street, then come back on your day for the rest.

So don't panic if your bags are still there at supper. Wait until Friday night. If they're still sitting there after that, contact Emterra at customercare.barrie@emterra.ca or 1-833-253-8207.

Why is pickup slower in late October and November?

That's when the leaves come down. The City says volumes jump in late October. Trucks fill up and make extra trips to the landfill. November is the month Barrie collects the most yard waste by far.

Barrie's average first fall frost is October 9, from Environment Canada's climate records. Going by the City's pickup numbers, plan for your busiest raking weeks in late October and November.

Which bags and containers does Barrie accept?

You have three choices:

• Paper leaf and yard waste bags
• An old garbage can up to 120 L, with handles on the outside
• An old green bin

If you use a can or green bin, stick a yard waste sticker on it. That tells the driver what's inside. The stickers are free at Service Barrie on the first floor of City Hall and at the landfill. Allandale Recreation Centre, East Bayfield Community Centre and Peggy Hill Team Community Centre have them too.

Leave these at home: plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and blue or grey recycling boxes. Cardboard boxes used to be fine. They stopped being accepted on May 1, 2024, because wet boxes tore and made messes at the curb.

Not sure if paper bags or a reusable can suit your yard better? Our post on yard waste bags vs bins compares them.

How heavy can a yard waste bag be in Barrie?

Each bag, can, bin or bundle must weigh 20 kg (45 lbs) or less. That's the rule that catches the most people in the fall.

Wet leaves are heavy. A paper bag that sat in the rain for a week can go over the limit. Because pickup is every other week, your bags may wait longer than you think. The City has a few tips:

• Store full bags somewhere dry and covered, like a garage, shed or under a tarp, until your week comes.
• Drill small holes in the bottom of a yard waste can so rain drains out. A lid helps too.
• Roll the tops of paper bags closed.
• Set bags side by side, close together. Don't stack them.
• Keep everything off the road and off the sidewalk.

Good news if the weather turns: bags set out on your week that get damaged by rain are still collected. If a bag breaks while the crew lifts it, the contractor cleans it up.

If you find a yellow "oops" sticker on your pile, something wasn't set out right. The sticker tells you what to fix before the next pickup.

How many yard waste bags can you put out?

As many as you need. Barrie has no limit on bags, containers or bundles in your yard waste week. That's handy for a big maple or oak in the yard.

The catch is timing, not volume. You only get a pickup every two weeks, so a big leaf weekend can leave a lot of bags waiting in the garage.

What yard waste does Barrie take, and what does it refuse?

Accepted at the curb

• Leaves and brush
• Grass clippings and garden waste
• Tree trimmings
• Sod and bales of straw

Rules for branches and hedge clippings

Tie branches and shrub clippings in small bundles with twine or other compostable string. Each bundle can be up to 1.2 m (4 ft) long and 0.3 m (1 ft) across. No single limb can be thicker than 7 cm (3 in). Loose, unbundled brush stays at the curb.

Not accepted

• Dirt and rocks
• Food waste, including fruit and vegetables from your garden (they go in the organics cart)
• Plastic pots and plastic packaging
• Milled lumber, pet waste, garbage and street sweepings

Spotting weeds or lawn disease during cleanup? Our partner crews don't spray, and we don't give chemical advice.

Where can you drop off leaves in Barrie?

The Barrie Landfill is at 272 Ferndale Drive North. It's for Barrie residents only, and you need photo ID at the gate. The Waste and Recycling Depot at the top of the hill is open Tuesday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The first 100 kg of each yard waste load is free. Anything over that is charged by weight. If your leaves are in plastic bags, you'll have to empty them out there.

For a small load, try the Recycling Depot at the bottom of the hill. It takes up to 4 bags of residential yard waste. It's open Tuesday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., from April until late November.

The landfill takes yard waste all year. So if leaves keep falling after the last November pickup, you still have a place to take them.

Can you skip bagging some of your leaves?

Yes. The City of Barrie suggests it. Run your mower over dry leaves to chop them fine, then leave them on the lawn. You buy fewer bags and haul less to the curb. Our guide to mulching leaves with a lawn mower explains when that works and when a thick layer needs raking.

Keep mowing while the grass still grows. Barrie's Yard Maintenance By-law 2011-107 caps grass on most lots at 15 cm (6 inches). The City's water tips say to leave grass at least 6 cm long and to leave clippings on the lawn. For soil, watering rules and neighbourhood notes, see our Barrie lawn care page.

Can a crew handle your fall cleanup?

Yes. Golden Oak Lawn Care matches you with a vetted, insured local crew in Barrie. They do the work. We stand behind it with the Golden Oak Guarantee.

Your crew can rake and bag leaves in paper for a fall cleanup, and keep the bags under 20 kg. They can tie hedge clippings into proper bundles after a hedge trim, and keep up regular mowing until the grass quits. Ask your crew how they handle haul away if you'd rather not store bags for two weeks.

We measure your yard from satellite images, so no one needs to visit. A cleanup price depends on lawn size, leaf volume, gates, slopes, hedges and haul away. Your price comes by text in 60 minutes. You keep the same crew every visit, with a photo after every cut. Book the season through the Worry-Free Lawn Season and your first cut is free.

Want it handled? Get your price in 60 minutes, or call 1-866-904-LAWN.

Barrie Yard Waste Questions

Rules change, so check with the City before you plan. Sources: Barrie yard waste collection, collection schedules, Barrie Landfill, Yard Maintenance By-law, water conservation tips, Barrie climate normals.