Arcadia, CA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

The yard waste definition is in Section 5110 of the Arcadia Municipal Code. Green Waste is any and all forms of biodegradable plant material that can be placed in a covered Container, such as waste from maintaining or altering public, commercial or residential landscapes, including yard clippings, leaves, tree trimmings, prunings, brush and weeds. The size line is exact: tree stumps and limbs greater than three inches in diameter are excluded unless reduced to a chipped form, and otherwise those large portions are considered Bulky Waste rather than Green Waste.

Green Waste is a subset of Organic Waste, which Section 5110 defines to include Food Waste, Green Waste, non-hazardous wood waste and unwaxed food-soiled paper. That routes yard trimmings into the Green Container, which Section 5110 says is used for storage and collection of Source Separated Green Container Organic Waste. Under Section 5140 single-family generators place that material in the Green Container and not in the Blue or Gray Container, and Section 5140.2 applies the same sorting duty to commercial businesses and multi-family dwellings.

Set-out rules for green waste containers are the ordinary ones. Section 5120.2.1 requires the container within five feet of the street or alley, Section 5120.5.1 allows parkway placement within twenty-four hours before collection, Section 5120.5.2 requires removal by 5 a.m. the day after, and Section 5120.3 caps containers at sixty pounds gross.

Professional landscapers get a specific carve-out. Section 5120.6.1 says no permit is required of a landscaper, landscape architect or tree surgeon solely for removing Source Separated Organic Waste from the operations of that licensed business. That waste must go to a solid waste facility, operation, activity or property that processes or recovers it, or to a High Diversion Organic Waste Processing Facility, and the business keeps records for the City as the SB 1383 Regulations require.