Leaf collection in Etobicoke and Scarborough the latest casualty of city budget

Toronto staff are recommending the end of the decades-old program in order to save $1.6 million a year.

Toronto.com
Jan. 13, 2023
Ben Spurr

Toronto’s long-criticized streetside leaf pickup service might finally be kicked to the curb.

Among the flurry of recommendations unveiled by city staff at the launch of the 2023 budget on Tuesday was a plan to cancel the decades-old mechanical leaf collection program.

The program allows residents to merely pile their leaves at the curb for pickup each year instead of raking and bagging them, and has long been derided by critics as an unfair perk because it’s only offered in parts of Etobicoke and Scarborough.

At a meeting of the budget committee to launch the city’s annual spending plan, chief financial officer Heather Taylor said that with Toronto facing a historic operating shortfall of almost $1 billion this year, the pickup service is a program the city can stand to lose.

“This isn’t a citywide service” and the city’s priority has been finding savings “where front-line services are not impacted,” Taylor explained.

According to budget documents posted online Tuesday, the contract for the program ended last year and it “will not be continued in 2023.”

Staff estimate nixing the program, which requires dispatching crews with front-end loaders and dump trucks over about four weeks every autumn, will save $1.6 million a year, and “ensure an equitable approach for collecting yard waste city-wide.”

The budget is scheduled to go to council for final approval on Feb. 14.

Coun. Stephen Holyday (Ward 2, Etobicoke-Centre) said he was fuming over the potential cancellation, and rejected the idea residents wouldn’t feel the impact.

He said the loss of the program would be particularly galling because constituents are being asked to pay more for city services this year. Mayor John Tory’s budget proposes a 7 per cent property tax rate increase in 2023, the largest hike in the amalgamated city’s history.

Holyday said if there are concerns about the cost of the program the city should launch a review to ensure it’s being delivered efficiently. But he rejected the idea that it’s a perk for privileged homeowners, saying it was designed to ensure leaves don’t clog ditches and cause floods.

He also dismissed concerns about the fairness of the program, arguing that while Etobicoke residents benefits from leaf collection, they get the short end of the stick when it comes to other city investments like arts and recreation funding.

Holyday warned ending mechanical leaf pickup would lead to increased city costs in the long run by worsening flooding, and would have other negative consequences.

“More people will think twice about planting and maintaining trees on their property,” he said, describing himself as “very angry” and “very frustrated” over the budget recommendation.

“I don’t plan to be silent about it.”

Taylor Deasley, a spokesperson for the mayor, wouldn’t say whether Tory supports ending the program.

Although under the new strong-mayor system Tory is responsible for presenting the annual budget, Deasley said staff proposed axing the leaf program because years after amalgamation the city is still trying “to deliver consistent service across the city.”

She said the mayor “looks forward to hearing from the public and councillors about this change.”

In Etobicoke, the leaf collection service is a holdover from preamalgamation days. When the former cities that make up Toronto merged in 1998, the program was never expanded citywide, but Etobicoke councillors fought to keep it in their part of town. A Scarborough councillor argued it should be offered in parts of the eastern suburb as well.

For the past 25 years local political support has allowed the program to survive successive rounds of belt-tightening at city hall.

Other geographic disparities in post-amalgamation services like windrow clearing have largely been addressed. In 2021 the city expanded sidewalk snow clearing to downtown neighbourhoods that had previously been excluded.