Blog · Waterloo
Brush, stumps and sod in Waterloo: what yard waste collection takes and what it leaves
Yard waste collection in Waterloo handles leaves and small branches well. It does not handle a fallen limb, a pile of sod from a new garden bed, or the old shed behind the garage. Here is where the line is.
Last updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Waterloo Junk Removal team
The collection schedule
The Region of Waterloo collects yard waste every second week, on the opposite week from garbage, from late March until the end of November or early December, depending on your schedule. There is no limit on the number of approved containers, paper bags or bundles you set out, as long as each one follows the rules. Set out by 7 a.m. on your collection day.
Approved containers and bundle sizes
- Paper yard waste bags, sold at grocery and hardware stores.
- Reusable cans no larger than 48 cm across, 84 cm high or 121 litres, with two handles and no lid on at the curb.
- Branch bundles no longer than 92 cm (about 3 feet) and made of branches no thicker than 7.5 cm (3 inches), tied with jute or cotton twine only.
- Weight: no container or bundle heavier than 23 kg (50 pounds).
Plastic bags are not accepted, and neither are blue boxes, green bins or cardboard boxes used as yard waste containers.
What is accepted
Leaves, fallen fruit, pine cones, garden plants and trimmings, hedge prunings, bundled branches within the size limits and pumpkins with decorations removed.
What curbside yard waste will not take
The Region lists these as not accepted in yard waste:
- Oversized or unbundled branches
- Stumps
- Soil, dirt, stones and sod
- Treated wood and wooden pallets
- Renovation waste
- Noxious weeds
- Glass, metal, plastic, pet waste and litter
Grass has been banned from curbside garbage since the Region's grass ban in 2003, so clippings cannot be hidden in the black cart either. Leaving them on the lawn is the simplest answer.
Where the leftovers can go
Yard waste is accepted at the Region's drop-off sites at 925 Erb Street West in Waterloo and 201 Savage Drive in Cambridge, where it is charged at the lower recyclables rate. A few details matter if you are hauling it yourself:
- Big material costs more. At the Waterloo site, stumps wider than 60 cm (24 inches) and brush longer than 2.4 metres (8 feet) are charged as garbage requiring special handling, at a higher rate.
- Mixed loads are charged at the highest rate. Brush mixed with bags of garbage or broken fence boards costs more than a clean load of brush.
- Soil, stone and concrete go in the inerts category, charged by weight.
- Pallets have their own diversion program.
- You unload it yourself. Site staff cannot help, and safety boots and a high-visibility vest are required at the Cambridge site and Waterloo's Gate 1.
Outside the season, the Region suggests backyard composting, leaving grass clippings on the lawn and using leaves as mulch in garden beds.
Typical Waterloo yard projects that outgrow the bags
Storm cleanup in mature neighbourhoods. Streets in Lakeshore and Beechwood have large trees, and a summer storm can drop limbs far thicker than 7.5 cm. Cutting them to 92 cm lengths and tying them is hours of work, and the thick sections still do not qualify.
New garden beds and patios. Stripping sod and digging out soil produces heavy material the curb refuses entirely. A few square metres of sod weighs more than most people expect.
Old sheds, fences and play structures. A rotted wooden shed is renovation waste, and pressure-treated fence boards are treated wood. Neither goes in yard waste, and neither fits bulky collection.
Rural and edge properties. Around St. Jacobs and Elmira, lots are larger and brush piles build up for years before anyone deals with them.
Getting more out of curbside collection
- Cut as you prune. Cutting branches to 92 cm while they are on the ground is far easier than dealing with a tangled pile later.
- Keep bundles light. A bundle of green branches passes 23 kg quickly. Two smaller bundles are better than one that gets left behind.
- Use the whole season. Spread a big fall cleanup over several collections rather than setting out everything in the last weeks of November, when the season may already have ended on your schedule.
- Check your calendar. The Region's collection map and the Waste Whiz app show your yard waste weeks by address, since they alternate with garbage.
- Leave the lawn clippings. Grasscycling returns nutrients to the lawn and takes nothing to the curb.
How the crew handles it
For anything outside curbside rules, the crew loads brush, branches and stumps, keeps clean yard waste separate so it goes to the Region's composting stream, and bags or loads soil and sod as a separate heavier load. Sheds and play structures are taken apart on site, with metal separated for scrap. See yard waste and shed teardown for what is included. Heavy material like soil and sod is priced by weight rather than volume; the Waterloo junk removal cost guide explains the difference. Send photos of the pile and the access to it for a price.