Whatcom County, WA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Curbside yard waste
- Not collected; deferred since chapter adoption
- Backyard composting
- Exempt from county disposal-site permit
- Commercial yard-waste facilities
- Also exempt from disposal-site designation
- Certified haulers
- SSC, Nooksack Valley Disposal, WM, Cando
- Last chapter amendment
- Ord. 2024-030
Summary
Unincorporated Whatcom County runs no curbside yard waste program. WCC § 8.10.050(C)(1)(g) lists yard waste among recyclables but says its collection is 'deferred pending further amendments' to the chapter, so residents must compost on-site, haul clippings to a private facility, or contract separately.
Solid waste collection companies shall collect, and recycling containers shall be designed to hold, the following materials: ... g. Yard Waste. Collection of this material is deferred pending further amendments to this chapter. ... 9. Composting of yard waste at facilities that accept and market source-separated yard waste materials; ... 12. On-site composting of materials generated on-site;
Full Breakdown
050(C)(1), names the materials every certified hauler must collect curbside: newspaper, mixed waste paper, aluminum and tin-plated steel containers, glass containers, and plastic bottles. Subsection (g) singles out yard waste on that same list and defers it, so, as adopted through the chapter's most recent 2024 amendment (Ord. 2024-030), the county still has no curbside yard-waste cart program for unincorporated areas, including Point Roberts and Birch Bay; certified haulers Sanitary Services Company, Nooksack Valley Disposal, Waste Management of Washington, and Cando Recycling and Disposal have no obligation to pick up grass clippings, leaves, prunings, or branches.
Residents are left with two grounded, permit-free paths under the county's separate solid waste disposal chapter. 070(A)(12) exempts 'on-site composting of materials generated on-site' from the county's disposal-site designation and permitting process entirely, so backyard composting of a household's own yard debris needs no county approval. 070(A)(9) separately exempts any commercial facility that accepts and markets 'source-separated yard waste materials' from that same disposal-site designation requirement, which is why private yard-waste drop-off and composting operators can run in the county without being licensed as a landfill. 050 still defers.
Violations & Fines
Because collection is deferred, not banned, WCC § 8.10.050(C)(1)(g) attaches no fine to yard waste itself, and no hauler is required to take grass clippings or branches at the curb. Composting under the § 8.15.070(A)(9) and (12) exemptions still must meet 'all other requirements of local, state, and federal health laws' per § 8.15.070(B); a compost pile or drop-off operation that turns into a nuisance or public-health hazard loses its exemption and falls back under the county's full solid waste disposal-site permitting and enforcement scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Whatcom County pick up yard waste at the curb?
Can I compost my own yard waste at home?
Is there a private yard-waste drop-off in the county?
What if a compost pile becomes a nuisance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Whatcom County
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