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

Sec. 10-20 of the City Code splits yard waste into two rules. First, under subsection (a), anyone in the business of trimming trees, shrubs, or grass cannot put out grass clippings, brush, or other brushable material generated by that commercial work for City collection: landscapers must haul their own debris away rather than using the residential yard waste program. Second, under subsection (b), residential yard waste only goes out on the specific days the Director sets, following whatever collection policies the Director establishes, so residents cannot simply put yard debris at the curb whenever they finish yard work.

This ties into the general prohibitions in Sec. 10-19(c), which bars several categories of waste from the regular refuse stream entirely and separately carves out yard waste as something that must instead follow the Sec. 10-20 schedule rather than everyday trash pickup. Because the yard waste calendar runs separately from the weekly refuse and recycling routes described earlier in Chapter 10, residents who miss a designated yard waste day have to hold their brush, leaves, or clippings until the next scheduled collection, or arrange a special pickup under the bulk waste fee process in Sec.

10-22 if the material qualifies. Violating either the landscaper restriction or the designated-day requirement is treated as a single offense under subsection (c) of Sec. 10-20.