Frederick County, VA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Chapter 142, Solid Waste, defines yard waste narrowly: it is the decomposable fraction of municipal solid waste generated by ordinary yard and lawn care, meaning grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, brush and tree prunings, while excluding roots or stumps larger than six inches in diameter, which the County treats as bulkier debris rather than routine yard waste. That distinction matters at the County's citizens' convenience sites, which the Public Works Department operates and is responsible for siting, fencing and staffing to deter illegal dumping. Under Section 142-26, residents may bring household waste and recyclables to those sites, but the regulations specifically forbid placing yard waste, along with building materials, tires, furniture, other large bulky items, infectious materials, explosives or dead animals, into a collection container or compactor.

The sites are closed on Christmas and Thanksgiving and other Board-designated holidays, and the Director of Public Works can close a site for weather, natural disasters or other emergencies. Because yard waste cannot go into the regular collection containers, the practical outlet the County's own code leaves open is household composting, which Section 142-6(E) affirmatively protects, since the article does not describe a separate yard waste bin or curbside pickup program.