Kane County, IL Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Kane County Code § 15-1 defines yard waste as everything generated by tree trimming, lawn mowing, gardening and leaf raking, including branches, brush, grass clippings, leaves, sod and hedge trimmings from yard and garden sources. Section 15-2(A)(9) then makes it a nuisance to let that material remain on the property for more than seven days after it is generated, whether the pile sits in a front yard, side yard or back corner of an unincorporated lot. The seven-day clock runs from generation, not from a complaint, so a homeowner who lets grass clippings or branch piles accumulate over two mowing cycles is already in violation before the county ever inspects.

Enforcement follows the same path as every other Chapter 15 nuisance: an authorized county representative first issues a written notice under § 15-5 identifying the location, the violation, the corrective steps required and a deadline to comply. If the deadline passes without abatement, the county can file a complaint under Chapter 2, Article IX, Administrative Adjudication, without ever having issued the notice first. Fines under § 15-6 reach $500 for each day the pile remains, with every day counted as a separate offense. If the owner still does not clear it, § 15-7 lets the county hire a private hauler to remove the yard waste and bill the cost to the owner, agent, occupant or tenant; an unpaid bill becomes a lien recorded against the property at the next tax roll, drawing interest until paid.

Parcels that are both zoned and primarily used for agriculture are exempt from this chapter under § 15-3, so working farms are not bound by the seven-day cap on crop residue or field clippings.