St. Charles County, MO Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- St. Charles County Code § 240.430(A)(2)
- Season
- April 1 through November 30
- Frequency
- Once weekly, additional fee allowed
- Delivery point
- Approved transfer station or composting facility
- Yard waste definition
- Leaves, clippings, trees, stumps, limbs – § 240.201
- Off-season
- No mandated pickup Dec.–March
- Hauler penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 1 year jail
Summary
Every licensed hauler in unincorporated St. Charles County must offer weekly yard waste pickup from April 1 through November 30 under Code § 240.430(A)(2), delivering it to an approved transfer station or composting facility. Yard waste covers leaves, grass clippings, garden vegetation, Christmas trees, stumps, rootballs and felled trees, but collection can carry an added fee.
A. As a condition of holding a permit issued pursuant to this Article, each permittee shall: 1. Collect and dispose of all solid waste at an approved facility at least once a week and make available for an additional fee twice-a-week collection and disposal. 2. Make available for an additional fee collection of yard waste once a week between April first (1st) and November thirtieth (30th) of every year and deliver all such materials to an approved transfer station or composting facility. 3. Collect separated recyclables upon request by the customer at least once a week and deliver all such materials to approved material processing facilities and/or end-users as appropriate.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4863880; v61 updated 2026-05-11; through 05-11-2026).
Full Breakdown
430, adopted under the county's Solid Waste Management Code (Chapter 240, Article IV), lists the duties every permitted solid waste hauler owes residential customers. Subsection (A)(2) requires each permittee to "make available for an additional fee collection of yard waste once a week between April first (1st) and November thirtieth (30th) of every year" and to deliver everything collected to an approved transfer station or composting facility, so haulers cannot simply landfill it. The same subsection sits alongside the permittee's other core duties: weekly trash collection with an optional twice-weekly upgrade under (A)(1), on-request weekly recyclables collection under (A)(3), and billing residential customers at prevailing fair market rates under (A)(4).
201 defines "yard waste" broadly as source-separated leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden vegetation generated by residential activities, plus Christmas trees, stumps, roots, shrubs with intact rootballs, logs, felled trees and tree limbs "regardless of size," a definition the county amended by Ordinance No. 23-092 in October 2023 to add the tree and limb language. 420's permit-issuance standards. Because the November 30 cutoff falls outside the primary spring/summer growing season, residents who generate yard waste in December through March have no guaranteed hauler pickup and must hold or self-haul it to a transfer station until the seasonal service resumes April 1.
Violations & Fines
A permittee that fails to provide the seasonal yard waste service required by Section 240.430(A)(2) is violating Chapter 240 and is subject to Section 240.1760's penalties: a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in the St. Charles County Jail, or both, with escalating minimum fines of $75, $150 and $225 for a second, third, or more than three offenses within twelve months. Each day of continued non-compliance after written notice is a separate offense, and the County Counselor may seek a court order to compel compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my trash hauler required to pick up yard waste in St. Charles County?
What counts as yard waste under the county code?
Can my hauler pick up yard waste in January?
Does the county charge extra for yard waste pickup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Charles County
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