Bristol Township, PA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Section 170-6 of the Bristol Township Code, part of the Recycling Ordinance adopted by the Township Council as Ord. No. 2008-03, governs yard and leaf waste. Every person residing in a residential property must separate yard waste from municipal waste. The code gives three destinations: on-site mulching, on-site composting, or disposal or processing at a composting facility in accordance with recycling regulations.

The definitions in § 170-2 draw the line between the two materials. Leaf waste means leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings and similar materials, but not grass clippings. Yard waste is leaf waste plus grass clippings. That distinction matters because the second sentence of § 170-6 uses the narrower term: all persons owning or managing multifamily residential properties, commercial, institutional, industrial and municipal establishments must separate leaf waste from municipal waste for processing at a composting facility.

Yard waste is also listed among the recyclable materials the Township specifies for separate collection, so it counts as recycling rather than trash. Municipal waste, by definition, does not include any source-separated recyclable materials.

Burning is not an alternative. Section 170-17 states that no person shall burn or cause to be burned outdoors for purposes of disposal any municipal waste, yard waste or recyclable materials. Section 170-18 separately bars open dumps and bars throwing trash and rubbish onto any street, public place or the land of another.

The Managing Director, the Managing Director's designee and sworn Bristol Township police officers enforce the recycling article under § 170-9.