Chatham County, GA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Sec. 21-405, "Curbside Collection by the County," commits the county to provide "a regular weekly scheduled curbside pickup in the unincorporated area" for yard waste, defined to include leaves, pine straw, grass clippings, prunings, limbs and brush, so long as the material is properly separated, containerized and/or stacked under Sec. 21-403. The county separately provides "a regular monthly scheduled curbside collection" for separated bulky items (Sec. 21-405(2)). Under the preparation rules of Sec. 21-403(1), leaves and small clippings must go in containers or compostable bags up to 32 gallons and 50 pounds, discarded branches and Christmas trees that will not fit in a container must be cut to a maximum of four-foot lengths and stacked neatly, and yard waste cannot be commingled with other bulky items or it will be left uncollected until separated.

Sec. 21-405(3) lists what the county will not collect at all: building construction or demolition materials, logs and limbs from commercial or contracted tree removal and land-clearing operations, waste generated by a business (including apartment complexes with lease-based aggregate collection), explosive or flammable liquids/solids/gases, and hazardous waste. Residents can also self-haul yard waste, bulky items, and household construction/demolition debris to county drop-off centers under Sec. 21-406, where materials must stay sorted by type.