How Much Does Brush and Branch Removal Cost in Toronto?

After a fall pruning or a storm trim, branches pile up faster than the curb can take them. A few bundles may still fit City collection if they are tied to spec. The rest is a haul. Brush removal cost in Toronto comes down to how much of the truck the pile fills. Here is how we price it, so there are no surprises.

This page is for a homeowner in Toronto, York, or Durham who wants the price before asking for a quote. Late October is a common time for that pile. City yard waste collection is winding down, and a pile that misses the last pickup can sit through the winter. Junk 'Of' Urs hauls brush, branches, leaves, and cut limbs that are already on the ground. Brush and branch removal sits with junk removal in Toronto at junkofurs.com/junk-removal/toronto. The service page is yard debris removal at junkofurs.com/services/yard-debris-removal. Send photos for a quote at https://junkofurs.com/quote.

Can the City take it for free?

Some of it can. Bundled branches that stay inside the City size limits can go out on yard waste day while collection is still running. Oversize wood, and a pile that is simply too big, usually cannot. The City of Toronto sets the limits, the bag rules, and the dates. Those depend on your address and on the season. Check the City's current rules, and your own collection calendar, before you count on a free set-out.

This page does not repeat those rules. What to bundle, what counts as oversize wood, and how the depots treat thick pieces are in the Toronto yard waste branch rules guide at junkofurs.com/blog/toronto-yard-waste-branch-rules. How to find the last pickup on your calendar, and what still works after the season ends, is in the last yard waste pickup guide at junkofurs.com/blog/last-yard-waste-pickup-toronto. If the pile is on a protected slope, read the ravine bylaw guide before anything goes near the bank: junkofurs.com/blog/toronto-ravine-bylaw-yard-waste.

How we price brush

Brush is priced by the load, never by the hour. You are not billed for how long the crew is in the yard. You are billed for how much loose brush fills the truck. Every price on this page is all-in, with HST included. Each load includes its dump trip and its tip fee, so those are not added later.

One brush load is a full fill of our truck with loose brush. The yard posts describe that full fill as about 9 cubic yards of loose pile. The numbers below are the published brush rates in those yard posts.

Brush load prices

A minimum brush job is a few bundles at the curb, up to about 1.5 cubic yards, and it is $149. A quarter brush load is $189. A half brush load is $269. A three-quarter brush load is $349. A full brush load is $419.

Two full loads are $749. Three full loads are $1,079. Each extra full load on the same job is $329. The written quote names how many loads it covers. If the job takes fewer loads, you pay less.

What adds to the price

A few add-ons sit on top of the load price. Each one is from the same residential rate card as the load prices.

Logs, rounds, or wood over 7.5 cm across or 1.2 m long add $39 for each load that contains them. Depots treat that wood differently from regular yard waste. The branch rules guide is where that difference is explained: junkofurs.com/blog/toronto-yard-waste-branch-rules.

A load that is mostly logs is dense and heavy. It reaches a weight limit long before it looks full. That load is $449 instead of the regular brush load charge.

Leaves in plastic bags that we have to empty add $20 per 10 bags. Kraft paper bags avoid this charge. If the leaves are already in paper bags, there is nothing to empty and the add-on does not apply.

The carry from the truck to the pile is the other common add-on. A long carry over 25 m from the truck, or a backyard reached through a narrow gate, adds $39 per brush load. A carry over 50 m, or a path that goes through the house, adds $79 per brush load. A photo of the gate, the stairs, and the distance is what sets this line.

Mixing brush with household junk is not priced as a plain brush load. The depot handles brush and household junk separately, so tell us up front if both are leaving. We quote the mixed load from photos. There is no mixed-load price on this page.

How to size your pile

You can sketch the size before you send photos. Measure the length, the width, and the height in feet. Multiply those three numbers, then divide by 27. The result is cubic yards. Loose, springy brush takes more room than it looks. Branches do not pack the way boxes do, and a pile that looks tidy from the side often hides more volume once you walk around it.

Here is a worked example of the math only. It is an example, not a real pile, and it has no price attached. A pile 10 ft long, 6 ft wide, and 4 ft high is 10 times 6 times 4, which is 240. Divide 240 by 27 and you get about 9 cubic yards before shape. A real pile is rarely a neat box. The photos still decide the load. The yard posts describe one full brush load as about 9 cubic yards of loose pile, which is a size comparison only.

Take the photos with a person, a car, or a fence in the frame for scale. Two angles show the depth that one photo hides. If the brush is in more than one pile, photograph each pile, and pace the path from the street to the farthest one.

What we haul, and what stays out of a brush load

We haul brush, branches, leaves, and cut limbs that are already on the ground. If a limb is still attached to the tree, that is not a haul yet. We do not cut, trim, fell, or chip trees, and we do not grind stumps. Have that work done first. We take the pile once it is on the ground.

Soil, sod, rocks, grass clippings, and stumps with soil are not brush loads. They are a different material. Ask for a separate quote from photos if that is what is in the yard. This page does not promise that we take them.

Ways to keep the cost down

A few choices keep the pile on a smaller load. Bundle anything that qualifies for City curbside while collection is still running, and set that part out on your yard waste day. Use kraft paper bags for leaves, so plastic bags do not add the emptying charge. Stack the pile close to the driveway, where the truck can park.

Keep logs in their own stack. A few thick pieces in an otherwise leafy load add the $39 log line. A pile that is mostly logs is the $449 log load. Separating them lets the leafy part stay on the regular brush rate. If household junk is leaving too, include it in the same photo set. We quote that mix from the photos so it can be part of one visit.

How to get an accurate quote

Send three things. Photos from two angles, with a person, a car, or a fence in the frame for scale. A photo of the path from the street to the pile, including the gate, any stairs, and the distance. A note on logs: say whether any wood is over 7.5 cm across or 1.2 m long, and whether a load is mostly logs.

Send that set for a free quote at https://junkofurs.com/quote. The written price comes back before the crew loads. The crew serves homes in Toronto, York, and Durham. Put the address with the photos so the visit is booked in that area. Great projects start with a clean slate.

Frequently asked questions

How much does brush removal cost in Toronto?

A minimum brush job, a few bundles at the curb up to about 1.5 cubic yards, is $149. A quarter brush load is $189, a half is $269, a three-quarter is $349, and a full brush load is $419. Two full loads are $749 and three are $1,079. Each extra full load on the same job is $329. Prices are all-in, with HST included. Brush is priced by the load, never by the hour. These are the published brush rates in our yard posts. Send photos at https://junkofurs.com/quote.

Do you charge by the hour?

No. Brush is priced by the load, never by the hour. One brush load is a full fill of the truck with loose brush. Each load includes its dump trip and tip fee. The price is all-in, with HST included.

Do you cut down trees or chip branches?

No. We haul brush, branches, leaves, and cut limbs that are already on the ground. We do not cut, trim, fell, or chip trees, and we do not grind stumps.

Will you take logs and stumps?

Logs, rounds, and wood over 7.5 cm across or 1.2 m long can go on a brush load. That wood adds $39 per load that contains it. A load that is mostly logs is $449 instead of the regular brush load charge. Stumps with soil are not a brush load. Ask for a separate quote from photos. This page does not promise that we take them.

Do I need to be home?

Someone who can approve what leaves should be there, or you can leave written instructions and access notes with the quote. Say so when you send photos if you cannot be home. The short page is at junkofurs.com/questions/do-i-need-to-be-home.