The City of Toronto says it will continue yard waste collection from April 20 to May 1 to accommodate residents.
The city said the start of seasonal yard waste collection was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it needed to ensure proper staffing levels to continue collecting main waste such as garbage, recycling and organics.
Yard waste collection was briefly resumed for a two-week trial period from April 6 to 17, and officials said they have determined the city can provide the service for another two weeks.
“We are doing everything we can as a municipal government to continue to provide essential and critical services for Toronto residents at this time,” Mayor John Tory said. “We know that yard waste collection is an important service our residents rely on at this time of year. Thank you to our front-line Solid Waste Management Services staff who continue to provide important services during the ongoing pandemic response.”
Approximately 5,700 tonnes of yard waste has been collected in the last nine days, according to the city.
“Residents are asked to put their yard waste out before 7 a.m. on their regularly scheduled garbage/yard waste collection day. If yard waste is not picked up on collection day, residents are asked to leave it out until it’s collected. It is not necessary to call 311 to report a missed collection,” city officials said in a statement.
The city will assess if it can continue to collect yard waste after May 1.
City officials added that pickup of garbage, recycling, organics and oversized and metal items has not been impacted and will continue as scheduled.