Burlington, NC Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Under section 33-31(6), yard waste has to be kept separate from other refuse before it goes to the curb. Grass clippings, small shrubbery trimmings, leaves, and similar small debris only get collected if bagged or bucketed in an approved container; the container itself must have a tight-fitting lid and sturdy handles, hold no more than 32 gallons, and weigh no more than 50 pounds when full so one worker can lift it. Tree limbs, cuttings, and shrubbery count as yard waste only when cut into four-foot lengths, kept under 50 pounds, and no thicker than six inches in diameter, then placed by the curb.

Larger branch piles need advance notice: material has to be cut to six-foot lengths and stacked at the curb for a special truck the sanitation division sends out after the property owner calls in. Several categories never qualify no matter how they're prepared: yard waste bagged in paper or plastic bags is excluded outright under section 33-26(j), stumps, logs, dirt, rocks, tires, and concrete are never hauled by the sanitation division, and debris generated by a commercial tree or landscaping contractor's work is excluded entirely, whether it's a residence or a business job site.

Building materials and refuse from commercial landscape work fall under the same exclusion. Yard waste service runs on the same weekly day the sanitation superintendent sets for a given route's regular curbside pickup, not a separate schedule.