Hayward, CA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Hayward Municipal Code Sec. 01(kk) defines "Yard Trimmings" as discarded materials that decompose or putrefy, "including but not limited to, green trimmings, grass, weeds, leaves, prunings, small tree branches, dead plants, brush, tree trimmings, dead trees, small pieces of unpainted and untreated wood, and other types of organic waste," and classifies Yard Trimmings as a subset of Organic Materials. While Sec. 25 generally authorizes only the City's Franchisee to collect and haul Solid Waste, Construction and Demolition Debris, Recyclable Materials, and Organic Materials, Sec. 26 carves out specific exceptions for Yard Trimmings: trimmings removed from a residential premises by a landscaping contractor "as an incidental part of a total gardening or landscaping service" rather than as a separately contracted hauling job, trimmings "directly loaded onto a fixed body vehicle and hauled directly to a facility for Composting or Disposal that holds all applicable permits," on-site composting of yard trimmings on a residential premises, and yard trimmings donated by the generator to youth, civic, charitable, or other nonprofit organizations. Outside those carve-outs, using an unauthorized hauler for yard debris violates the Franchisee's exclusive collection right.