Curbside Collection of Yard Waste

If you do not mulch mow nor compost your yard waste at home, or simply have too much to manage, the City of Lawrence will pick it up on Monday mornings, March through mid-December (weather permitting), excluding holidays. Grass, leaves and woody debris should be set out by 6:00am Monday mornings in a can, City cart (trash cart or yard waste cart) or compostable paper yard waste bag. Bundles of tree and brush trimmings are also accepted. Each bundle must not exceed 5 feet in length nor 18 inches in diameter and must not weigh more than 65 pounds. Bundles must be tied with string or twine (please no wire, duct tape, etc.).

Plastic bags may not be used to contain grass and leaves, per chapter 9 of the City Code. Note that grass and leaves are NOT collected with regular household trash when separate Monday collection is available.

Yard Waste Container Details

Curbside collection of yard waste will continue to allow cans, City carts and compostable paper yard waste bags for material set out, regardless of changes to the collection of solid waste.

Cans

No yard waste container should weigh more than 65 pounds, unless it is a wheeled City cart, or have a capacity of more than thirty-five (35) gallons. Yard, shrub, and tree trimmings should not extend more than twelve (12) inches above the top of the container.

City Carts

Give your trash cart double-duty! Fill the empty cart with grass, leaves and woody debris over the weekend, and use as your yard waste container for Monday collection. After Monday yard waste collection, use the cart for your regular trash collection.

Separate Yard Waste Carts specifically designed with vents to prevent strong odors from stored yard waste materials such as grass, leaves, and woody debris are available for purchase from the city. These brown carts are for yard waste collection only; no trash, please.

“City carts” are roll-out carts provided by the City (i.e. trash carts) or purchased from the City (i.e. yard waste carts). No other carts are allowed.

Compostable Paper Yard Waste Bags

Compostable yard waste bags are strong, double-ply paper bags with a "wet strength" meant specifically for yard waste. They are usually 30 gallons capacity and sold in packs of five, available at local retailers. For a limited time, the City of Lawrence is also selling compostable paper yard waste bags. For more information, visit our Compost Bins Sale page.

 

Holiday Schedule

Citywide yard waste collection is on Monday mornings, March through mid December, weather permitting. Set your grass, leaves, branches and other small yard trimmings out by 6:00 a.m.. Separate collection of yard waste in 2013 postponed until Monday, March 11th, due to snow and will occur every Monday through December 16th, weather permitting, except on the following Mondays:

• Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day
• Monday, September 2 - Labor Day

What Not to Collect

When collecting your yard waste for Mondays, be careful not to contaminate them with inorganic debris or the herbicide ingredient Clopyralid (clo-PEER-a-lid), as your yard waste will be composted and then used by both the City and your fellow citizens (for distribution information, click here). Clopyralid is not like other herbicide ingredients in that it does not break down readily during the composting process. Thus it can persist in finished compost and may damage certain garden plants if contaminated compost is heavily applied. If using Clopyralid-containing products, please mulch-mow your clippings; do not set them out for Monday collection. For more information, please see our clopyralid brochure (PDF, 255K).