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

Sec. 2-4(e) splits yard waste collection into two tracks. Yard waste collected alongside a household's normal residential trash service must be placed in approved containers or tied into bundles no larger than four feet in length and 15 inches in diameter, weighing no more than 50 pounds, and this service is only furnished to residences already regularly scheduled for solid waste removal by the city, meaning it is not a standalone service available to any address. The city also runs special yard waste collection events, during which the size limits tighten rather than loosen: branches and debris collected then cannot exceed three inches in diameter or eight feet in length.

Two categories are excluded outright from both tracks: tree stumps and tree trunks are never collected, and neither is waste generated from topping or removing a tree, work the ordinance treats as tree-service debris rather than routine yard waste. The ordinance also draws a sharp line on who can use special collection: it states plainly that special yard waste collection is not offered to businesses, reserving that service for residential customers only. Whatever yard waste is accepted, whether through normal or special collection, must be kept separated from other solid waste for pickup, the same separation principle that applies to recyclables under the adjacent subsection.

Bundled material that exceeds these size or weight limits is functionally treated the same as an unapproved waste container under the chapter's broader container rules.