How a drop works
Official Ontario board. A resident marks a safe spot on private property. A crew working nearby dumps a full box. Both rate whether instructions were followed. FreeWoodChips.ca does not schedule the truck or handle money.
Accounts and legal first
Listing, claiming, and rating need a FreeWoodChips.ca account. Creating that account (or signing in with Google / X) includes the membership terms. We save that legal PDF and email a copy to the operator. Listing and claiming do not create extra PDFs.
Dumping on public land is prohibited. Do not list or dump on parks, road allowances, municipal boulevards, schoolyards, conservation land, or any other public property. Drops are for private property only, with the owner’s permission.
If you want chips
- Create an account and sign the membership terms — that PDF is emailed to the operator. Confirm your email (Google and X skip that extra step).
- Confirm you can take a full load and that a chip truck can reach the spot.
- The spot must be private property you own or have permission to use. Dumping on public land is prohibited.
- Give your exact street address and a phone number. Crews only see those after they claim the drop.
- Describe exactly where to dump — and where not to. Do not put your house number in the public notes.
- Say what you accept: chips only, a few logs, or logs welcome.
- Leave the site open. You may not get a call first.
- After a drop, rate whether the crew followed your mark.
If you have chips
- Sign in with a confirmed account and accept the current membership terms.
- Look at open sites near the job, filtered by load type.
- Claim one site so two trucks do not show up. Claiming unlocks the street address and phone.
- Dump only where marked, on private property. Never on public land, parks, or municipal boulevards.
- Rate whether the notes and access were honest.
Mark the dump spot
- Use a cone, tarp, or painted X the driver can see from the cab.
- Need about 8 ft by 15 ft, plus room to swing the box.
- Give a backup spot that is still on the same private property — not the public road or boulevard.
- Move cars, pots, and toys before the day starts.
You get fresh arborist chips from whatever was cut that day. Mixed species, often leaves. Not playground fibre. Not coloured landscape mulch.