Kendall County, IL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

The county defines 'yard waste' at Kendall County Code § 18-19 as waste from tree trimming, lawn mowing, gardening, leaf raking and similar yard activities: branches, brush, grass clippings, leaves, sod and hedge trimmings. Rather than running a county curbside pickup program for that material, Kendall County Code § 18-22(c) sets the terms under which a resident may burn it on site. Open burning of yard waste is allowed only on the property from which it was generated, and only where burning generally is permitted, subject to seven conditions: atmospheric conditions must allow contaminants to disperse; burning is barred on IEPA 'code red' or 'ozone action' alert days; the fire cannot create a visibility hazard on roadways, railroad tracks or airfields; it must stay at least twenty feet from any building or structure; it must be supervised until fully extinguished with a hose or extinguisher on hand; the material must be clean and dry; and it cannot contain varnish, paint, finishes or other chemicals that would create toxic emissions.

This sits apart from the general leaf-and-landscape-waste burning restriction at Sec. 16-1, which bars burning outright in the county's higher-density R-6 and R-7 zoning districts in larger townships; Sec. 18-22 is the yard-waste-specific rule that applies county-wide wherever burning is otherwise allowed. The County Health Department, through its enforcement officer, administers Chapter 18.