Champaign County, IL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Champaign County's Public Nuisance Ordinance, adopted October 20, 2016 and enforced by the Zoning Administrator and the Champaign County Sheriff, governs unincorporated land only; the City of Champaign and the City of Urbana enforce their own separate codes. Section 3.2.A declares it a nuisance to deposit, accumulate, maintain or dispose of yardwaste, brush or cut timber anywhere other than a properly permitted or licensed facility, whether on public or private property or in a public right-of-way (Section 3.1.A). The ordinance defines a lawful outlet as a LANDSCAPE WASTE COLLECTION ALTERNATIVE (Section 2.2): either paying a fee to drop material at the Landscape Recycling Center, 1210 East University Avenue in Urbana, or hiring a service provider or contractor to haul it away, with that provider required to send a written letter to the Chair of the Environment and Land Use Committee confirming the alternative is available.

Owners inside the county's Prohibited Burn Area, the unincorporated land within 1,000 feet of Champaign's or Urbana's boundaries, cannot simply burn a brush pile instead; open burning of landscape waste there is allowed only in narrow circumstances under Section 3.3.G. If a complaint substantiates a pile of accumulated yardwaste, the Zoning Administrator or Sheriff issues a notice of violation giving the owner of record and any other responsible person at least 15 days to abate it (Section 4.3.D), unless the activity is ongoing or poses imminent peril, in which case immediate action can be ordered.

Continued piles are treated as a fresh offense every day they remain (Section 6.1.B). An accused owner may settle by paying the $100 minimum fine (Section 6.3) or face prosecution by the Champaign County State's Attorney, where a court can impose $100 to $500 per offense on a first conviction and $200 to $500 on any later one (Section 6.4).