Pittsburgh, PA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Pittsburgh Code § 619.13 imposes one duty and delegates the rest to the city. Under § 619.13(a), persons must separate all leaf waste from municipal waste and store it until collection, unless they have otherwise provided for composting it, and § 619.14(a) sets compost structures back at least one (1) foot from all property lines. Under § 619.13(b), the Director, defined in § 619.01(i) as the Director of the Department of Public Works or the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services or their designee, is authorized to develop and implement a leaf waste collection and composting program for sites serviced by the City. The code prints no collection date, bag type or weight limit for leaf waste, so the Public Works program page and 2026 mailers carry those rules.

The program page says the city offers special curbside collection days twice a year, plus year round drop off. Both 2026 mailers, Central-Eastern and Northern-Southern, print "November 7th Yard Waste Collection" in their summer and fall calendars. The page, last updated 06/10/2026, moved the spring day from Saturday, April 25th to Saturday, April 18th because of the NFL Draft, and sends residents to the collection schedule webpage or PGH.ST to see what day their curbside pickup falls on.

Curbside, the city collects leaves, branches, brush and grass, and the fall mailer key adds pumpkins, plants, shrubs and tree trimmings. Everything goes in paper bags weighing less than 35 pounds, and plastic bags are not accepted. Bundle branches with fiber twine or natural rope in lengths of 5 feet or less. The program page lists branches of 4" diameter or less, while the mailers say only branches smaller than 4 inches in diameter and 5 feet in length will be taken. Set everything out at your regular collection spot before 6:00 a.m. on collection day. Yard waste that does not meet the guidelines is left at the curb.

Section 619.01(n) excludes grass clippings from the definition of leaf waste, yet the city's yard waste days accept grass. On a regular trash day, the program page allows five or fewer easy-to-lift yard waste bags per pick up. Nothing in the program page, the mailers or Chapter 619 describes loose-leaf curbside pickup, vacuum service or raking leaves into the street.