Grande Prairie Yard Waste and Leaf Collection: A Fall Guide

In Grande Prairie, Aquatera picks up yard waste at the curb from April to November. Put leaves and grass in clear bags, each under 20 kg (44 lb) with no rips. Tie branches in bundles no longer than 1 m and no wider than 0.5 m. Have it all out by 7 a.m. on your collection day. There's no limit on the number of bags.

Who picks up yard waste in Grande Prairie?

Aquatera does. It's the utility that handles water, wastewater and garbage for the City of Grande Prairie. So when you have a question about leaf bags, call Aquatera, not City Hall.

Yard waste pickup runs from April to November. Aquatera takes:

• Leaves
• Grass clippings
• Branches and brush
• Pumpkins, after Halloween
• Real Christmas trees, after the holidays

Aquatera doesn't say which day in November the last pickup comes. Don't wait for the final week to find out. Rake early and get your bags out on the pickups you know you have.

When is my yard waste collection day?

Aquatera doesn't post one leaf day for the whole city. Your day depends on your address. Look it up on Aquatera's Waste Collection Calendar, linked from its curbside collection page.

Curbside collection runs Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Here's a handy detail for today. Pickup still runs on stat holidays, so Thanksgiving Monday is a normal collection day. Only December 25 and January 1 push pickup forward a day.

Collection starts at 7 a.m. Aquatera lists "not set out by 7 a.m." as a top reason a pickup gets missed. Bags out the night before is the safe bet. If wind is up, weigh them down or tuck them by the fence until morning.

What bags does Grande Prairie take for leaves?

Clear, see-through bags. That's the rule for both leaves and grass clippings. The crew needs to see what's inside.

Each bag has two more rules:

• It must weigh less than 20 kg (44 lb).
• It must have no rips or tears.

A torn bag on a windy morning is a mess on your whole street. Double knot each one. If a branch poked a hole in it, rebag it.

Our post on yard waste bags vs bins compares the options in other cities. In Grande Prairie, clear bags are the ones that get picked up.

How do I keep leaf bags under 20 kg?

Dry leaves are light. Wet ones are not. A full bag of soaked October leaves can get heavy fast. Try this:

• Rake on dry afternoons when you can.
• Fill wet bags about three quarters full.
• Keep full bags in the garage until collection day.
• Lift every bag before it goes out. If it's a strain, split it.

Snow makes this harder. October at the Grande Prairie airport averages about 12 cm of snowfall and about 20 nights at or below freezing. Leaves frozen to the lawn or sitting under wet snow are tough to rake and heavy to bag.

How do I put out branches and hedge trimmings?

Bundle and tie them. Each bundle can be no longer than 1 m (about 3 ft) and no wider than 0.5 m (about 1.5 ft). Set the bundles right beside your yard waste bags.

If your hedges or shrubs need one last tidy before winter, our hedge trimming service can handle it. One note: the strip of land at the front of your lot is a City boulevard. The City asks homeowners not to prune boulevard trees, under Section 22 of Bylaw C-504. Leave those to Parks.

Where do I put bags so they get picked up?

Aquatera asks for your garbage cart to sit at least 1 m (about 3 ft) from parked cars, tagged bags, trees and snow piles. The same idea helps your yard waste. Keep the bags in a clear row with room around them. Don't stack them against the cart.

Pumpkins have their own rule after Halloween. Put them in your garbage cart, or in clear bags at least 1 m from the cart.

Blocked access is the other common reason for a missed pickup. A parked truck or a snowbank in front of your bags can mean the collection truck drives past.

Can I take leaves to the Grande Prairie Landfill?

Yes. Aquatera runs the Grande Prairie Landfill at 4506 100 Street. It's open Monday to Saturday. Check Aquatera's site for hours before you load up.

Yard waste and sod go in free when you keep them apart from other waste. Two catches:

• Branches are not part of the free yard waste.
• Mixed loads have to cross the scale twice. Keep leaves in their own pile in the truck.

Don't take leaves to the Eco Centre on 96 Avenue. Aquatera lists yard waste as something the Eco Centre can't accept.

The landfill trip is handy if snow comes early and you still have bags in the garage. It's also handy for sod you dug up this summer.

Can I rake leaves onto the street or into the gutter?

No. Under the City's Drainage Bylaw C-1443, yard waste counts as a prohibited material. That means grass, leaves, plants, and tree and hedge clippings. No one may let it get into the storm system, which includes the catch basins.

The bylaw also covers your own lot. If you have a grass swale, a ditch or a gutter on your property, you have to keep it clear of yard waste. The City's homeowner page says owners look after their grass swales, too.

There's a local reason for this. Grande Prairie's storm water flows untreated into Bear River. Leaves that wash into a catch basin end up in the river or plug the drain. So blow leaves toward the lawn or a tarp, never toward the road.

Planning an early start with the leaf blower? The noise bylaw bans power mowers and power tools in residential areas during quiet hours, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Does Aquatera compost my leaves?

No. Aquatera has no compost program. Your yard waste supports its Landfill Gas to Energy Project at the bioreactor landfill instead.

That gives you a choice. Aquatera says you're free to keep organic material for your own backyard compost pile. Leaves make good compost, and that's fewer bags to carry.

You can also mow light leaf cover right into the lawn. Our post on mulching leaves with a lawn mower shows when that works and when the layer is too thick.

Why clear the leaves before the snow in Grande Prairie?

Snow comes early here. The airport's average first fall frost is September 12. By the end of October, about 3 cm of snow is on the ground on average.

Leaves left under that snow hurt your lawn in two ways. Iowa State Extension says a leaf layer blocks light, so grass can't store food before winter. The University of Saskatchewan says leaf litter and long, matted grass help snow mould grow. Its advice is to cut and rake before the snow arrives.

Older neighbourhoods get the most leaves. The City's plan for South Avondale says its tree canopy of green ash, poplar and spruce stretches over the streets. If your yard sits under trees like that, plan on more than one rake.

Keep cutting while the grass still grows, too. Bylaw C-1293 calls grass over 15 cm (about 6 inches) a nuisance. Our Grande Prairie short season guide covers the last cut, and our Grande Prairie lawn care page has soil and neighbourhood notes. For other cities in the province, see our Alberta page.

Can a crew handle your Grande Prairie fall cleanup?

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

Your crew can rake and bag leaves in clear bags for a fall cleanup, keeping each one under 20 kg. They can tie brush into bundles Aquatera will take. Ask how they handle haul away if you'd rather skip the curb.

We measure your yard from satellite images, so no one needs to visit. Lawn size, leaf volume, gates, slopes, hedges and haul away all change the price. Your price comes by text in 60 minutes. Next spring, book the season through the Worry-Free Lawn Season. You get the same crew every visit, a photo after every cut, and your first cut free.

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

Grande Prairie Yard Waste Questions

Rules change, so check with Aquatera and the City before you plan. Sources: Aquatera curbside collection, Aquatera resource guide, Aquatera FAQs, Grande Prairie Landfill, Eco Centre, Drainage Bylaw C-1443, drainage and stormwater, City homeowners page, South Avondale ARP, Noise Bylaw C-1103, Bylaw C-1293, Grande Prairie climate normals, Iowa State Extension, University of Saskatchewan.