What a bin costs for the same basement
A full basement usually needs a 14 yard bin, and a lighter one may fit in a 10 yard. On our Volume Based Pricing every size is $325 before HST and includes up to 1 metric tonne, with up to 7 days on site. Delivery, extra days and any other charges are separate, and weight above the allowance is $130 per tonne, prorated.
For dry household contents, boxes, furniture and old toys, $325 for the bin can look like the clear winner against a $550 to $700 crew. But the bin price only covers the bin. Everything else is on you:
- The carrying. Every box, chair and bookcase goes up the basement stairs and across the driveway by hand. In a house with a steep stair and a low header at the bottom, which describes a lot of the older housing in York, East York and the Junction, that is a weekend or two of hard lifting.
- The breaking down. A sofa that came down the stairs in one piece twenty years ago may not go back up the same way.
- The weight. Wet carpet and underlay after a flood are much heavier than dry contents. A flood clear-out can push a bin past its allowance, where a crew prices by space in the truck.
- The driveway. The bin needs to sit on your property with room for the truck to set it down and lift it again. A short semi driveway may not have it, and a bin on the road needs a City street occupation permit.
Our bin rental cost guide has the full table of sizes and options if you want to compare the weight-based numbers too.
The free option for some items: City curbside pickup
Before paying for anything, check what the City will collect at the curb. The City of Toronto's 2026 household waste collection schedule treats items that will not fit in your garbage bin as oversized items, and they can be left 0.5 m (2 ft) away from your garbage bin on garbage day, with no garbage tags or appointment required. That covers a lot of basement contents:
- Furniture: box springs, dressers, chairs, mattresses and patio furniture. Sofa beds can go out whole if the frame is tied shut.
- Carpeting, underpad and linoleum, tied in rolls no longer than 1.2 m (4 ft) and weighing less than 20 kg (44 lb).
- Appliances, including fridges and ovens, with the doors removed.
- Wall units, separated into lengths no greater than 2.5 m (8 ft).
- Electronic waste, placed beside the garbage bin for pickup on garbage day.
If your home is on City collection, you have time, and you can get those items up the stairs and to the curb yourself, curbside pickup is the cheapest way to clear them. Where it falls short is everything else: the boxes and loose clutter that would need dozens of tagged bags, and the fact that it all still has to come up the stairs first, one garbage day at a time.
When a crew is the better choice
Book a crew when most of these are true:
- The basement is full of contents rather than construction debris. Furniture, boxes, exercise equipment, old electronics and storage totes.
- The stairs are steep, narrow or turning. This is where a crew saves you the most, and it is the norm in older Toronto houses.
- You want it done in one day. Before a listing, a closing, a move or a new tenant.
- Nobody in the house should be doing the lifting. Treadmills, weight sets and solid wood dressers are among the heaviest things that ever come up a basement stair.
- There is nowhere for a bin. No driveway, or one too short for the truck to set a bin down.
A crew also does the sorting that a bin does not: metal and electronics separated, usable pieces set aside for donation.
When a bin is the better choice
Rent a bin when most of these are true:
- The clear-out is part of a renovation. Old drywall, flooring, framing and the basement contents coming out over a week or two, while the work goes on.
- There are people on site to load it. A contractor's crew, or family who can put in the time.
- The driveway has room for the bin and the truck.
- You want to clear at your own pace, a bit each evening, without booking a visit for every stage.
For heavy demolition material, such as a concrete floor being broken up or old brick, neither a garbage bin nor a regular crew load is the answer. That goes in a small fill bin or is hauled by the cubic yard.
A side-by-side for a typical finished basement
Here is how the three routes compare for a finished basement holding furniture, boxes and an old exercise machine:
|
Crew |
Bin (14 yard, Volume Based) |
City curbside |
| Price before HST |
$550 to $700 |
$325 plus delivery and any overage |
No charge for oversized items |
| Who carries it up the stairs |
The crew |
You |
You |
| Time |
One visit, usually 2 to 4 hours |
Up to 7 days included |
One garbage day at a time |
| Boxes and loose clutter |
Included |
Included |
Tagged bags only |
| Sorting for recycling and donation |
Included |
You |
You |
| Driveway space needed |
No |
Yes |
No |
The bin wins on price only when your own time and labour are free and the weight stays under the allowance. For most households clearing a full basement, they are not.
What cannot go out either way
The same items are excluded from a crew load and from any bin, because they need a hazardous waste depot: paint, solvents and other liquid chemicals, motor oil, fuel, propane tanks, car and marine batteries, medical waste, and ammunition or flares. The City lists most of these as household hazardous waste that will not be collected at the curb either.
If you find something you suspect contains asbestos, such as old vermiculite insulation, pipe wrap or certain floor tiles in a pre-1990 house, stop and have it tested. We do not remove asbestos or suspected asbestos material.
Need a Basement Cleared in Toronto? Junk Alert Is Ready to Help
Send a few photos of the basement, one of each wall and one of the stairs, and we will give you a price for a crew. If a bin makes more sense for your job, we will tell you that too, and quote it.
See our basement cleanout service, compare bin rental options and the full pricing page, call us at (647) 456-6665, or contact us today to book. We work across Toronto and the GTA, Monday to Saturday from 7am.
