What to do with yard waste

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2019 (2362 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the leaves fall, I want Daniel McIntyre residents to know they have options for the autumn debris that collects on our streets and yards.

Yard waste will be collected and composted by the City until the end of November, depending on the weather. This is a free service provided by the City every second garbage collection day. The same day of the week as you empty your garbage and recycling carts.

Composting organic materials like yard debris helps us divert waste from the landfill and contributes to reducing greenhouse gases. The yard waste collected and composted by the City is used in flower beds and to landscape finished landfill areas.

Yard waste can include: grass clippings, plants, flowers, apples from your trees, bush and shrub clippings, or small tree branches no more than 10 centimetres or four inches in diameter. You can also put out tied bundles of branches less than one metre long (39 inches) and less than 10 centimetres in diameter.

Please put your yard waste out by 7 a.m. on your collection day, but no sooner than the night before. Acceptable containers include: any reusable container in good condition without a lid, cardboard boxes or paper yard waste bags. Paper yard waste bags are all-natural, durable, and compost easier.

The City will not collect yard waste in plastic bags. Containers or bundles of branches should be kept lighter than 22 kilograms (50 pounds) and placed at least an arm’s length from your garbage and recycling carts.

You can also drop off yard waste year round for free at any 4R Winnipeg depot.  Please bring your yard waste in reusable containers, cardboard boxes, paper yard waste bags, or loose in a covered trailer. The Brady Road Landfill also accepts yard waste for free and as long as the load is only yard waste.

Please avoid sweeping leaves and yard waste onto the streets as they can clog the catch basins. If you are already using a backyard composter that’s great, please carry on.  The collection program is intended for those who aren’t recycling or have too much for their backyard composting to handle.

Let’s clean up our yards and compost to keep it out of the landfill.