Lynnwood, WA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LMC 7.15.060
- Duty
- Separate yard waste from garbage
- Lawful disposal
- Collection service, own-property composting, or lawful means
- Adopted
- Ord. 1785 § 2, 1990
- Chapter penalty
- None set specifically in Ch. 7.15
Summary
Lynnwood, Washington, in Snohomish County, bars mixing yard waste with garbage under LMC 7.15.060. Once yard waste or composting collection service is available, residents must use it; otherwise yard waste may be composted on the property or disposed of by any other lawful means, but never dumped in with regular garbage.
It shall be unlawful to discard yard waste together with solid waste (garbage). Yard waste shall be made available for yard waste collection and/or composting services as soon as the same are provided; or the customer shall dispose of yard waste through composting, or otherwise, on their own property; or by other lawful means.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3512, passed May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
060 bars Lynnwood residents and businesses from throwing yard waste in with regular garbage. 030. Until or instead of using a collection service, a property owner may lawfully manage yard waste in other ways: composting it on their own property, or disposing of it through any other lawful means. 010 to set rules for recyclable materials, frequency of service and reporting, so yard waste separation functions as part of the city's overall diversion program rather than a stand-alone bin-and-fee scheme spelled out section by section in the code.
040, which expressly lists yard waste among the categories a property owner may remove personally rather than through the licensed garbage hauler. 15 itself does not attach a specific dollar fine to a violation of the separation duty; the chapter's only other operative sections address the director's rulemaking process and severability, not enforcement penalties.
Violations & Fines
LMC 7.15.060 does not set out its own fine schedule for mixing yard waste with garbage; Chapter 7.15 contains rulemaking and severability sections but no dedicated penalty clause. Because the duty sits within Title 7 alongside the general garbage and solid-waste provisions, the city can still pursue the general code-enforcement remedies found elsewhere in the Lynnwood Municipal Code, such as those referenced for garbage-collection violations in LMC 7.04.050.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put grass clippings and branches in my garbage can in Lynnwood?
What can I do with yard waste if I don't want to use collection service?
Is there a specific fine for mixing yard waste with garbage in Lynnwood?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynnwood
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Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle yard waste collection.