Prepare for Yard Waste Pickup

To reduce waste in Missouri, state law has banned yard waste from landfills.

Yard waste can be easily recycled at home.

1. Recycle grass clippings by letting them lie on the lawn, they will decompose quickly and return valuable nutrients to the soil.
2. Compost leaves, grass, and other organic yard waste.
3. Mulch yard waste by spreading leaves or grass clippings around trees and in planting beds.

The City of St. Louis operates a weekly collection service for yard waste during the Spring, Summer and Fall months. Yard Waste Collection is discontinued during Winter months for both roll-carts and alley yard waste dumpsters. The service stops the first week in December and resumes in early to mid March. In the first part of each year you can check recent Refuse news items for more specific dates.

1. Review the information about what constitutes yard waste.
2.  Find out when your trash, recycling, bulky items and yard waste are picked up.

• If you are a resident with an alley dumpster, place your yard waste in the dumpsters marked "YARD WASTE ONLY".  
• If you are a resident with a roll-out cart, you will receive a separate collection for yard waste each week, EXCEPT during weeks with a holiday or during the winter months. Detailed Holiday/Winter collection schedule available here.
• During fall/winter months, when leaf volume is high and may not all fit in your green cart, the Refuse division offers bagged leaf collection.  To request bagged leaf collection, call Citizens' Service Bureau at 622-4800.
• The Streets Department combines regular leaf pickup with street cleaning services on the regularly scheduled street sweeping days from the first Monday in November through December 31st. Learn more about leaf pickup and removal.

• For residents with alley service, trash and recycling dumpsters are emptied the first collection day, yard waste is emptied the second collection day.
• For residents with roll cart service, yard waste is collected from your green cart on Wednesday.

• Residents may also bundle limbs in six foot lengths and place them out for the monthly bulk pick up.
• The Refuse Division will accept one pick-up truck load of yard waste each month from residents at a transfer station.