Ada County, ID Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Ada County defines "yard waste" in section 5-2-3 as organic material from routine yard and garden upkeep, including grass clippings, pruning waste, small limbs and leaves, but the definition specifically excludes sod, vegetation with rocks or dirt still attached, stumps, food waste, and animal waste, so those materials cannot go out as bundled yard debris. 2 lets residents use "disposable (nonreturnable) paper sacks for leaf collection only" instead of the standard wheeled cart, alongside the county's 65- or 95-gallon carts used for regular household waste.

Residents who generate more yard debris than fits within these limits can self-haul it under section 5-2-4-4 to a disposal site approved under section 5-2-5, rather than waiting for cart or bundle pickup. The rules sit inside the same general sanitary-container framework the county's contracted hauler uses for weekly residential collection, so oversized branch piles left loose at the curb, rather than tied to the sixty-pound, four-foot standard, are not guaranteed pickup.