New Britain, CT Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

The City of New Britain handles brush, branches and leaves under Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances, the same chapter that governs trash and recycling generally. Sec. 11-72 defines "yard waste and leaves" as brush and the boughs and foliage of trees, while a separate definition of "leaves" covers tree, bush and plant foliage with a minimum of contamination by rocks, sticks or pesticides. The broader "acceptable solid waste" definition folds branches, leaves, twigs, grass and plant cuttings into regular collection, but caps logs at three feet long and six inches in diameter, so larger limbs fall outside routine pickup and residents have to arrange separate disposal.

Rather than fix a schedule in the ordinance itself, Sec. 11-86 delegates the details to the director of public works, who is authorized to issue regulations covering collection specifications for leaves and yard waste along with drop-off locations for waste oil, batteries, mattresses and paint. Leaves also fall inside the mandatory residential recycling list in Sec. 11-79, so residents who fail to keep them separated from other trash face the same escalating enforcement the city uses for recyclables generally under Sec. 11-85: a written warning for a first offense, a fifty dollar fine for a second, and up to two hundred dollars for each later violation.

Any nonmunicipal collector handling yard waste must register with the director of public works under Sec. 11-73, and unregistered haulers are barred from operating in the city under Sec. 11-77.