Halloween is over, the porch looks like a haunted house that lost a fight, and the jack-o'-lanterns are already starting to sag. Post-Halloween cleanup is a small job with a few rules that are easy to get wrong — pumpkins in the wrong bin, yard waste in plastic bags, decorations in the compost. Here is how to sort it all in Toronto, what it typically costs to hire help in 2026, and the deadlines that matter this month.
The takedown: decorations first
Start with the decorations, because they decide what the rest of the cleanup looks like:
- Lights and inflatables. Take them down dry if you can, check cords and stakes for damage, and store them somewhere dry. A string of lights put away wet is a string of lights that fails next October.
- Fake cobwebs, fake blood and costume bits. These go in the garbage. They are plastic and synthetic fibres, not compostable, and they do not belong in yard waste or the Green Bin.
- Real straw, cornstalks and unpainted pumpkins. These are yard waste or organics, not garbage — see below.
- Batteries and broken electronics. Dead batteries and busted light strings do not go in any curbside bin. Toronto's Drop-Off Depots take household hazardous waste, including batteries, for free.
If you hired help to put the display up, the takedown is the natural follow-up job. Our guide to Halloween decorating help in Toronto covers setup costs, and the same neighbour who set up on Saturday is usually happy to come back for the teardown.
What to do with pumpkins in Toronto
Pumpkins are food waste, so the Green Bin is their home — with a few conditions:
- Plain, unpainted pumpkins go in the Green Bin. Scoop out the candle or tea light first, and remove any pins, wires or decorations.
- Pumpkins with paint, glitter, glue or varnish go in the garbage instead. Coatings do not compost, and they contaminate the organics stream.
- Whole pumpkins also count as yard waste in Toronto, so a pumpkin with the candle removed can go out in a paper yard waste bag or a rigid open-top container on your yard waste day.
- Do not smash pumpkins on the lawn and leave them. Rotting pumpkin attracts rodents, and a thick layer of pulp smothers grass underneath.
A faster option for a whole pumpkin patch's worth: cut pumpkins into pieces first so they fit the bin, and save the seeds if you garden — roasted, they are the one part of the pumpkin that is not a chore.
Leaves and fall yard waste: the November deadlines
Post-Halloween cleanup is also the bridge into fall yard cleanup, and November is when Toronto's yard waste season winds down. The rules that catch people out every year:
- Yard waste is collected every other week on your garbage day in Toronto, in kraft paper yard waste bags or rigid open-top containers. Plastic bags are not accepted, and neither are cardboard boxes.
- Each bag, container or bundle must weigh no more than 20 kg (44 lb). Branches must be bundled, no longer than 1.2 m (4 ft), and no thicker than about 7.5 cm (3 in).
- Set everything out by 7:00 a.m. on collection day, even if trucks usually arrive later in your area.
- The season ends in early to mid-December. GTA guides updated in November 2026 put Toronto's final yard waste day at December 11 for Friday "B" schedule neighbourhoods, with other zones ending on their own last scheduled day in that window. Check the City's collection calendar for your address rather than guessing — once the season ends, yard waste waits until spring.
- Grass clippings, sod and soil are not accepted as yard waste in Toronto. Leaves, small branches, plant material, pumpkins and cornstalks are.
If you miss the last pickup, your options are a Drop-Off Depot, storing bagged leaves until spring collection resumes, or hiring someone to haul them away.
What cleanup help typically costs in Toronto (2026)
Prices below are typical 2026 Toronto and GTA ranges in CAD:
| Type of help | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Neighbour or general help, hourly (takedown, raking, bagging) | Approximately $39 per hour plus HST, per one Toronto garden service's published rate |
| Professional one-time yard cleanup, Toronto | From about $320 per visit |
| Professional seasonal fall cleanup, GTA | Typically $350–$900 per visit, depending on lot size |
| Yard waste haul-away, per load | Approximately $300 per load, per one Toronto property-care service |
A small job — taking down decorations, raking one yard and bagging the leaves — is usually a few hours of neighbour help. A full fall cleanup on a large, treed lot, with gutter clearing and garden-bed work, is the job that lands in the professional $350–$900 range. Agree on whether hauling and disposal are included before work starts, since a pile of bagged leaves at the curb is only half a job if your yard waste day has already passed.
A sensible order of work
- Decorations down and sorted — keep, garbage, or depot.
- Pumpkins out — Green Bin or yard waste, candle removed, painted ones in the garbage.
- Leaves raked and bagged — paper bags only, under 20 kg each, out by 7:00 a.m. on your yard waste day.
- Gutters and walkways cleared — leaves in gutters become ice dams once the first freeze hits, and wet leaves on steps are a slip hazard.
- Final mow and a last look — a short lawn going into winter, and a yard with nothing left to rot under snow.
The whole job is usually one afternoon for a typical Toronto yard, or a morning with a second pair of hands. If you would rather hand it off, you can post the job free on yoodle.ca — neighbours post odd jobs, local helpers offer to do them, and there are no fees for either side. You can also browse local helpers and message someone nearby directly.
Timing it right
The window is short: Halloween is behind you, the last yard waste pickups arrive in early to mid-December, and the first lasting snowfall in Toronto usually lands in November. Get the pumpkins and decorations sorted this week, the leaves bagged before your next yard waste day, and the gutters cleared before the freeze — then the yard is done until spring.