Bellevue, WA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

050 defines yard waste as loose material such as sod, grass, weeds, flowers, and leaves, plus branches and prunings under four inches in diameter and five feet in length. The definition specifically excludes food waste, plastics and synthetic fibers, lumber, any wood or tree limb over four inches thick or five feet long, and soil contaminated with hazardous waste, so oversized limbs and treated lumber cannot go out as yard debris under this section. Subsection B is the operative rule: depositing yard waste in a garbage or recycling container is prohibited outright, and the city-contracted hauler will not collect solid waste or recyclables that come mixed with yard debris.

To get yard waste picked up at all, it has to be separated, placed in an approved container, and the resident has to be enrolled in the city's yard waste collection program; unenrolled households simply will not have yard debris collected curbside. Subsection C gives the city manager authority to amend hauler contracts and adjust collection rates for yard waste as needed to run the program, so participation costs and container specifications can shift by contract rather than by ordinance amendment. The rule traces to Ord. 26 Solid Waste alongside the recyclable-materials designation and the county solid-waste-authority provisions.