Chesterfield County, VA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Spring burn window
- March 15-April 15, 4pm-midnight Mon-Thu
- Fall burn window
- Nov 15-Dec 15, 8am Mon to noon Fri
- No-burn areas
- Board-designated zones with county pickup
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine up to $500.00
- Governing sections
- County Code §§ 11-41, 11-42, 11-43
Summary
Chesterfield County Code §§ 11-41 and 11-42 control when residents may burn leaves at home: only in set spring and fall windows, and never inside a board-designated "no burn area" where the county runs a leaf pickup service instead. Anyone who burns outside those windows, or inside a no-burn zone, faces a misdemeanor charge under § 11-43.
(a)No person in the county may burn leaves from trees on property where they reside, except: from March 15 to April 15 from 4:00 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday and from November 15 to December 15 from 8:00 a.m. on Monday to noon on Friday; provided, however, that leaf burning shall be permitted from December 19, 2001 through January 18, 2002.(b)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, no person may burn leaves within the bounds of any area designated by the board of supervisors as a "no burn area" and where a county leaf pickup service is provided even during the periods when leaf burning under such subsection (a) would be otherwise permitted.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
The rule lives in Chapter 11, Article IV of the county code, right after the trash and weeds provisions and before the landfill article, and it is the county's only home-burning allowance for yard waste. m. Monday to noon Friday; the code also carved out a one-time exception permitting burning from December 19, 2001 through January 18, 2002. Section 11-41(b) overrides those windows entirely inside any area the board of supervisors has designated a "no burn area" where a county leaf pickup service operates, even during a period when burning would otherwise be allowed.
Section 11-42 lets the board create those no-burn/pickup zones by describing the boundaries using recognized roads, subdivisions and landmarks, publishing notice once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and posting the notice in at least five public places within the area; if the board sets a fee for the pickup service, it can also adopt a reduced fee for elderly or low-income residents who meet the income and net-worth tests in § 9-24(a) and (b). Because Chesterfield has no incorporated towns, these are the only leaf-burning and leaf-pickup rules that apply anywhere in the county, from Bon Air to the rural southern end near Amelia and Dinwiddie.
Violations & Fines
Section 11-43 makes any violation of the leaf-burning article a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00. That covers burning outside the permitted spring and fall windows, burning inside a designated no-burn area, and any other breach of Article IV. There is no separate civil-penalty track here, unlike the tall-grass and litter provisions elsewhere in Chapter 11; a citation goes straight to a misdemeanor charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I legally burn leaves in Chesterfield County?
What is a county "no burn area" and does it change the rules?
Does Chesterfield pick up bagged leaves for free?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesterfield County
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