Bradenton, FL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Yard trash is defined in section 58-1 of the Bradenton Code of Ordinances as clippings resulting from the care of shrubbery and portions of trees not exceeding six feet in length or three inches in diameter. Anything longer or thicker falls out of the yard trash category, and lot clearings that are not yard trash are classed as rubble under the same section, which the occupant must remove under section 58-32.

Section 58-39 sets the preparation rules. Yard trash and newspapers are deposited in neat piles along the side of the street or alley. Grass cuttings and leaves must be in containers, bags or boxes, or of a type not affected by wind or rain. If the owner wants to keep the container, it must be marked accordingly, so the collectors know not to take it. Paper is handled the same way or tied in bundles to prevent it from blowing over streets. No container may weigh in excess of 100 pounds.

The city collects the material. Under section 58-31, rubbish and trash, including yard trash, deposited as the article requires are collected and disposed of as often as the city deems necessary, in contrast to garbage, which the city collects at least twice each week. The code prints no fixed yard-trash pickup day, and the director of public works can regulate collection days under section 58-3.

The private-disposal ban in section 58-33 does not reach yard trash. It bars disposal of garbage, rubbish or trash by anyone the city has not authorized, but it says so with the words not including yard trash. Section 58-34 still applies: only the owner, a person the owner authorizes, or the city may remove refuse placed for collection by the city sanitary department.