Bloomington, IL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Yard debris in the City of Bloomington runs on its own every-other-week schedule under § 21-305(B), separate from the once-a-week garbage route, and the City suspends collection of ash-tree limbs, logs, branches and leaves entirely between April 30 and September 1 in any year McLean County sits under an Emerald Ash Borer quarantine, to keep infested wood out of the collection stream. Brush that is not bagged in an approved refuse container must be cut to no more than six feet in length and stacked neatly at the curb before the City will take it, under § 21-401(B).

Leaf collection itself is handled separately: § 21-309 lets the City pick up leaves from time to time as the Director of Public Works directs and the City Manager approves, rather than on a fixed weekly stop, and it is unlawful for a resident to rake or store leaves in the street while waiting for that pickup. Residents who miss a scheduled pickup, or who generate more yard waste than the curbside program takes, can haul it themselves to the City's Drop-Off Facility, which under § 21-407 accepts only yard waste and recyclable materials from residential properties enrolled in the City's solid waste program; it will not take garbage, appliances, or bulk or building waste. The Drop-Off Facility is not open year-round: it closes annually from January 1 through March 21.