How to Get Rid of Yard Waste, Brush and Stumps

Several states ban yard waste from disposal. Minnesota law says a person may not place yard waste in mixed municipal solid waste or in a disposal facility; the ban took effect in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in 1990 and statewide in 1992. North Carolina lists yard trash among the materials banned from its general landfills. Massachusetts bans leaves and yard waste from disposal as well.

Even where no state ban applies, a county or city may require yard waste to be kept separate, or may charge a different rate for it, because it can be composted or ground into mulch instead of using landfill space. Mixing a bag of leaves into a load of trash can mean a refused load or the higher rate, so keep it separate and ask where it goes.

The usual destinations are municipal compost or yard waste sites, yard waste areas at transfer stations and landfills, curbside yard waste collection, and private mulch or compost yards. Some accept everything from leaves to logs; others take only certain materials or sizes. The table summarizes typical outlets and preparation, but acceptance rules are set locally, so check the facility page or call.

Brush is light for its volume: EPA's factor for prunings and branches is 127 pounds per cubic yard, and Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency measured scaled truckloads of brush before chipping at an average of 195.3 pounds per cubic yard. That makes a trailer of brush cheap by weight but bulky, so sites that price by volume or by load may charge more than the weight suggests.

Stumps and logs are the opposite. Washington's Department of Ecology lists stumps and logs at 1,080 pounds per cubic yard, and stumps usually carry soil in their roots. Some yard waste sites do not take stumps at all, others take them only below a certain diameter or for an extra fee, and the soil may need to be knocked off first. Tree services and grinding operations are worth calling for large stumps.

Yard waste loads get rejected for things that do not compost: plastic bags, plastic pots, string, rocks, bricks, lumber or trash. Compost and mulch sites turn what they collect into a product, so contamination costs them money.

Bag rules are often written into law. In Minnesota's metropolitan counties, yard waste brought to a transfer station or compost facility in a plastic bag must use a bag that meets the ASTM D6400 standard for compostable plastics, unless the bag is emptied immediately and removed. Elsewhere, paper yard waste bags, loose loads in a truck or trailer, or emptying your own bags at the site are typical options; check what your local site requires.

Many places that collect yard waste turn it into wood chip mulch or compost, and some make it available to residents free or for a small charge, either self-loaded or loaded by machine for a fee. Availability, quality and limits vary from site to site and season to season, so check the facility page or call before driving over with an empty truck. Bring a tarp and a shovel, and remember that a level pickup bed of chipped brush is about 800 pounds at Minnesota PCA's measured 349.8 pounds per cubic yard.

Yard waste density swings with moisture and how loosely it is piled. Oregon DEQ notes that loose piles may weigh as little as 100 pounds per cubic yard, while compacted mixed yard debris reaches 640. The pickup column uses a 6.5-foot bed filled level with the rails, about 2.31 cubic yards.