Bloomington, IN Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Season
- Monday, October 19 through December 30
- Pickup day and set-out
- Your A or B week day, at the curb by five a.m.
- Accepted containers
- Brown paper bags, handled cans, or green-lid carts ($70)
- Bags and own cans
- Under 40 pounds each; cans 35 gallons or less
- City cart
- 64 gallons; Sanitation page says no weight limit on carts
- Yard waste fee
- $1.00 per container, bag or bundle under § 6.04.090
- Code fine
- $50.00 under Chapter 6.04; $25.00 under § 6.04.110
Summary
Bloomington begins fall leaf collection on Monday, October 19 and runs through December 30 on residents' regular A and B week yard waste schedules, per the City's September 23, 2026 release. Leaves go to the curb in brown paper bags, handled cans or green-lid carts, and the release asks for under 40 pounds per bag or container. Plastic bags are refused, vacuum pickup is gone, and § 6.06.020 bars placing yard waste in the street.
(a)All grass, weeds, leaves and other similar yard and garden materials shall be placed in appropriate watertight thirty-five gallon or less container or two-ply biodegradable wet strength paper bag with each weighing less than forty pounds separate from solid waste and recycling and shall not be mixed with any other substances. Said container shall be maintained in good and sanitary condition, with no ragged or sharp edges or any other defect that could hamper or injure the person collecting the contents thereof. Yard waste will be collected weekly on the customer's assigned collection day. ... It is unlawful for any person to throw, place, or scatter any garbage, recyclable materials or yard waste over or upon any premises, street, alley, either public or private, or to suffer or permit any garbage, recyclable materials or yard waste to be placed or deposited on the premises owned, occupied or controlled by such person either with or without the intent to later remove, cover, or burn it.
Full Breakdown
The code sets the container rule, and the City publishes the season. Under § 6.04.050(a), leaves go into a watertight container of thirty-five gallons or less or a two-ply biodegradable wet strength paper bag, each weighing less than forty pounds, kept apart from solid waste and recycling. Sections 6.04.020 and 6.04.080(a) leave the days of collection and the published schedules to the board of public works. Section 6.04.050(a) says yard waste is collected weekly, while the City's release and Sanitation page publish A and B weeks.
Service reaches residences, not every address. Section 6.04.080(b) collects from places of residence within the city limits except buildings containing more than four residential units, residences above or in the same structure as a business, and residential units on private streets, unless the director of public works authorizes service in writing.
The release opens the fall program on Monday, October 19 and ends it December 30, on residents' regular A and B week yard waste schedules. The Sanitation page lists yard waste pickup on Monday through Thursday, each with an A and a B schedule, and points residents to myBloomington by address. The release names brown paper yard waste bags, trash cans with handles, and City-issued green-lid yard waste carts, available from the Sanitation Department for $70.
The release asks residents to keep each bag or container under the 40-pound weight limit, and the Sanitation page caps handled cans at 35 gallons. That page describes the City cart as 64 gallons and says there is no weight limit on the carts, only that the lid be fully closed.
Crews ask residents to leave paper bags untaped, keep dirt out of bags and containers, and set yard waste apart from the trash and recycling carts. The Leaf Management page adds that the yard waste crew will not collect leaves in plastic bags, and that residents are charged a fee when carts or paper bags hold anything other than dried leaves. It prints no amount for that fee.
Section 6.04.080(c)(1) puts yard waste containers at the curb or the edge of the street no later than five a.m. on collection day. Section 6.04.110 bars setting them out where they are visible from the street more than twenty-four hours early.
Bloomington ended curbside vacuum leaf collection, and 2023 was the first year without it. The City calls mulching and composting in your own yard the best option.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 6.04, including mixing yard waste with trash or recycling, carries a $50.00 fine under § 6.04.100(c). A § 6.04.110 violation, such as setting containers out more than twenty-four hours early or leaving them out after collection day, carries $25.00, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation. A notice of non-collection left on the cart can serve as the notice of violation, and the fine can be appealed to the board of public works within seven days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I bag leaves or rake them to the curb in Bloomington?
Can I rake or blow leaves into the street?
Are leaves collected every week in November and December?
Does Bloomington charge for leaf bags and carts?
Is there a holiday delay for leaf pickup this fall?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bloomington
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