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

Yard trimmings service in unincorporated Gwinnett County is opt-in, not automatic. Section 82-56(a)(5)a permits a residential service unit owner to compost trimmings on their own property instead of setting them out, and subsection (d) lets an owner separately contract with the area's residential service provider for pickup; subsection (e) requires the owner to contact that provider directly to start service. Once a resident subscribes, subsection (g) caps the monthly charge at $10.00, with a discount available for a yearly subscription, and subsection (f) authorizes the provider to bill and collect that fee.

Placement rules under subsection (h) are specific. Trimmings must be kept segregated from municipal solid waste and set at the designated collection location, and an owner cannot leave trimmings out for more than seven days. They must go into sturdy paper bags or a container labeled for yard trimmings, not into solid-waste carts, recycling bins or plastic bags, or be tied into bundles weighing no more than 50 pounds. Loose or bundled material cannot exceed four inches in diameter or three feet in length. Subsection (h)6 allows the provider to haul segregated trimmings in the same truck as regular solid waste for delivery to a landfill with a gas-recovery system under O.C.G.A. § 12-8-40.2. Trimmings generated by a third party's own work, such as a landscaping contractor, may instead be hauled off by that third party under subsection (c), bypassing the county program entirely.