Reminder: Yard waste collection begins in April

Now that the weather is warming up, many are eager to get outdoors and tidy up the yard. However, you may want to wait to bust out that rack. Hennepin County is encouraging residents to leave yard waste untouched until mid-April or early May to be nice to the pollinators—bees often nest in broken stems of plants and butterflies overwinter in leaf piles.

Yard waste collection begins the week of April 5, 2021. The service is included in the base fee for the Solid Waste & Recycling service. There’s no extra charge for the collection of properly prepared yard waste. If you do not use the City’s collection service, contact your hauler for information. 

If you have yard waste that you’d like to get rid of before collection begins again this spring, visit Hennepin County’s Yard and tree waste disposal web page.

By state law, it’s illegal to throw yard waste in the garbage. Check below for pointers on what to include or exclude from yard waste collection.

Accepted:

Yard waste must be set out in reusable containers, compostable bags or in bundles secured with string or twine. Reusable containers must be 32–38 gallons in size and 26–32 inches high, with sturdy handles.

• Kraft paper bags or compostable bags may be found at grocery, hardware or retail stores.
• Compostable plastic bags must have the BPI logo.
• Each container, bag or bundle must weigh less than 40 pounds.
• You must set yard waste at your collection point by 6 a.m. on your pickup day.
• Yard waste cannot be mixed with your organics recycling (compost).

Not Accepted:

• Branches longer than 3 feet or wider than 3 inches in diameter
• Dirt or soil
• Pet waste
• Sawdust
• Sod
• Stumps
• Trees

—Information provided by Hennepin County.