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

Two subsections of § 8.12.170 govern yard waste in the City of Highland. Subsection G sets the preparation rule: tree trimmings and brush shall be cut into four-foot lengths and tied bundles of not larger than 24 inches in diameter for ease in pickup. Subsection J sets the container rule: any yard waste must be placed in a separate container, as specified by the public works subcommittee. Yard waste therefore does not ride in the standard refuse cart with household trash.

The definition in § 8.12.010 draws the line on what counts. Yard waste means all leaves, cuttings and trimmings from trees, shrubs and grass, and it does not include heavy or bulky articles such as trees, tree stumps, tree limbs or logs. Those heavier items fall under the bulky waste rules. Section 8.12.170(F) says bulky waste shall not be set out and is collected only during annual cleanups or by contractual arrangements between the resident or business and the contractor, and § 8.12.230 requires prior approval and arrangements with the collector before bulky waste is placed at the street.

Timing rules apply to yard waste containers like any other container. Under § 8.12.170(D) and (E), nothing goes to the street more than 24 hours before the normal collection time and containers come back within 12 hours after collection, and § 8.12.170(H) requires residential solid waste at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on the designated pickup day.

Highland carves out gardeners and self-haulers. Sections 8.12.220(B)(1) and 8.12.260 exempt a person holding a valid city business license in the nursery or gardening business, and anyone removing shrubbery, grass, tree cuttings, tree trimmings or other agricultural debris from property the person owns or occupies. A resident who self-hauls under § 8.12.350(D) must take yard waste only to authorized sites and cannot leave it on a street, alley, waterway or unimproved lot, including in another person's bin. Burning is not the alternative: § 8.12.250 bars burning refuse except in an approved incinerator or device under a permit from the appropriate public official.