Bristol, PA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential duty
- Separate leaf waste from other trash until collection
- Composting alternative
- Allowed if the leaf waste is otherwise composted
- Streets and gutters
- No raking or depositing leaves or vegetation (§ 21-142)
- Container
- Paper bags or weatherproof receptacles at the curb
- Street-rule penalty
- Up to $1,000 plus costs, up to 90 days on default
- Grass clippings
- Excluded from the leaf waste definition in § 20-302
Summary
Bristol Borough requires residents to separate leaf waste from other trash until collection unless they compost it themselves. Raking leaves or other vegetation into gutters, sewers, streets or alleys is unlawful, and the material goes in paper bags or weatherproof receptacles at the curb. Grass clippings fall outside the Code's definition of leaf waste.
B. Persons are hereby required to separate leaf waste from other municipal waste generated at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments until collection unless those persons have otherwise provided for the composting of leaf waste. ... C. Persons are hereby required to separate high grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste and other material deemed appropriate generated at commercial, municipal or institutional establishments and from community activities and to store the material until collection.
Full Breakdown
Two parts of the Bristol Borough Code govern leaf and yard waste. The first is the recycling program in Chapter 20, Part 4. Section 20-405(1)(B) requires persons to separate leaf waste from other municipal waste generated at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments until collection, unless they have otherwise provided for the composting of leaf waste. Backyard composting is therefore the one recognized alternative to separation at a residence. Section 20-302 defines leaf waste as leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and similar materials, but not including grass clippings.
Commercial, municipal and institutional establishments have the same duty. Under § 20-405(1)(C), they must separate leaf waste along with high grade office paper, aluminum and corrugated paper, and store the material until collection. The Borough exempts an establishment that has otherwise provided for recycling those materials, but the exemption requires an annual permit application, a fee established by resolution, and written documentation of the tons recycled or estimated to be recycled.
The second part is the street rule in § 21-142. It is unlawful to rake or otherwise deposit leaves or other vegetation into the gutters, sewers, highways, streets and alleys within the Borough of Bristol. The Code tells residents what to do instead: place the material in paper bags or other suitable receptacles impervious to the elements, and set them adjacent to the curb to await collection. The rule protects storm sewers and street drainage in a river borough where gutters and inlets sit close to every block.
The Borough collects recyclable materials from curbside or similar locations designated by resolution at least once per month under § 20-405(1)(D), and the Borough Manager notifies occupants of the program requirements at least once every six months under § 20-406. Bagged leaves belong at the curb on the days the Borough designates, not in the roadway.
Violations & Fines
A leaf-in-the-gutter violation falls under § 21-143: a summary offense, with a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs on conviction before a magisterial district judge and up to 90 days in prison in default of payment. A violation of the recycling program, including the leaf waste separation duty, falls under § 20-410, with a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 plus costs. Under both sections, each day a violation continues is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rake leaves into the street in Bristol Borough?
Do I have to separate leaves from my regular trash?
Are grass clippings leaf waste in Bristol Borough?
What is the fine for putting leaves in the gutter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bristol
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