Pawtucket, RI Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Article V of the Solid Waste chapter establishes a local composting program that requires residents to separate certain leaf and yard waste from their regular garbage for collection, under § 347-29. Section 347-31 makes source separation mandatory in support of the city's resource-recovery commitment, and it runs during the "leaf and yard waste collection season," defined at § 347-30 as beginning the second-to-last full week of October and ending the second full week of December each year. During that season, § 347-32 requires residents to place leaves, grass clippings, weeds and hedge trimmings into one of three approved containers: paper leaf bags of up to 30-gallon capacity meeting Public Works specifications, barrels weighing no more than 55 pounds when filled, or "bio-sheets," a 100% biodegradable cellulose mesh with a built-in drawstring.

Compostable material cannot be placed in plastic trash bags or mixed with other solid waste during the season, and containers must be closed with staples or string, never tape. Containers go out at curbside on the collection days the Department of Public Works publishes in local newspapers. If a resident fails to follow these placement rules, § 347-33 lets the Director of Public Works or the Superintendent of Sanitation simply refuse to collect the material, and the resident must pull it back off the curb until the next scheduled pickup rather than leave it out improperly.