Yard waste is collected weekly from: 

1. Brown bins 
2. European model wheeled bins, any colour other than blue, 80 to 360 litre-capacity, and identified by a “V”.

Gatineau residents can drop off their surplus yard waste at any time at a permanent or mobile ecocentre. It's free and there is no limit on quantity.

Five special collections are scheduled annually: 

• Three in the fall, between October 14 and November 22, 2024 (the same week as garbage collection);
• Two in the spring.

For the exact date of your special collection, enter your address in  DTRITUS: 

To make sure your yard waste is picked up

• Dry leaves
• Yard waste (plants, grass, etc.)
• Branches less than 4 cm in diameter and 1.5 m in length

Branches larger than 4 cm but less than 10 cm in diameter will be collected if you sign up for a bulky items collection. 

Cedar clippings can be collected free of charge by a local organization. Find out more! 

Would you like to do your share and reduce at the source? Learn more about grasscycling and leafcycling!!

• What should I do if I have more than 20 bags of leaves for a yard waste special collection?
  Every week, you can place some of your leaves in the brown bin and in European model wheeled bins (which you can buy in a hardware store), any colour other than blue and identified by a “V”. There is no limit for the number of bins identified by a “V”.

  You can also spread your bags over more than one collection in order to remain within the limit of 20 bags per collection. Remember, there will be three yard waste collections in the fall, for a total of 60 bags allowed per residence.

  Another option is to drop off your bagged leaves at a permanent or mobile ecocentre. It's free and there is no limit on the number of bags per resident! 

  Finally, home composting and leafcycling are solutions to consider.

• Why is there a limit of 20 bags? 
  A fall 2023 review of materials left curbside revealed that only one out of 387 homes observed put out more than 20 bags (26 bags for that one home) for any given collection. That leads us to believe that the limit of 20 bags per collection will be enough for most residents. There is also the option of dividing the bags over more than one collection in order to remain within the 20-bag limit per collection. 
• Why not organize a yard waste collection in the summer?
  In summer, most of the yard waste generated is from the garden, branches (weather-related), grass clippings and hedge clippings. These can be collected in other ways than through a yard waste collection. Garden waste and grass clippings can be placed in brown bins or in European-style wheeled bins (which can be purchased at the hardware store) identified by a “V” every week along with compostables. Branches will be collected when you sign up for a bulky items collection. Cedar clippings will be collected from your home by an organization, sometimes for free. As for grass clippings, reducing at the source is the preferred option, as grasscycling provides a natural fertilizer for your lawn.
• Why are there different modes of collection for branches according to their diameter? 
  In order to be composted along with food residues and green residues, branches must measure no more than 4 cm in diameter. Anything larger than that is sent to a construction materials sorting centre and processed. The limit of 10 cm is to avoid damaging the trucks. 
• Why must the branches be bundled? 
  That's simply to make it easier for the collection crews. You can tie them with twine, preferably a natural fibre such as jute or hemp.
• Why are there two different trucks collecting my yard waste?
  The truck equipped with a robotic arm collects the brown bin, as well as the compliant rolling bins identified with a V. Another truck, with a garbage collector, is dedicated to collecting bags of leaves, round trash cans and bundled branches.