Queen Anne's County, MD Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Section 25-16 of the Queen Anne's County Code sets how refuse must be prepared before the County's collector picks it up. Subsection D is the yard debris rule: tree trimmings, hedge clippings, and similar material shall be cut to lengths not to exceed four feet (1.2 meters) and securely tied in bundles not exceeding two feet (0.6 meters) in thickness before being deposited for collection. Two limits apply to every bundle, one on length and one on thickness, and the material has to be securely tied.

The code does not give yard debris its own definition. Instead, yard clippings sit inside the definition of rubbish in § 25-1, which describes rubbish as nonputrescible solid waste such as paper, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, wood, glass, and similar materials. That placement matters because § 25-16 C separately requires rubbish to be drained of liquid before it is deposited for collection. Rubbish does not include building rubbish, stones, street refuse, industrial refuse, or other waste materials not commonly produced in homes, so contractor debris and cleared land material fall outside this household rule.

Subsection A of § 25-16 ties all of this to the Department: producers of refuse shall prepare the refuse for collection in accordance with the requirements of the Department, and the Department is the Department of Public Works for Queen Anne's County. Under § 25-4 B the Director of Public Works can set rules consistent with the chapter on the days of collection, the types and locations of waste containers, and other matters about collection, so set-out details beyond the bundle sizes come from Public Works.

Where service exists, household refuse in a solid waste subdistrict is collected by a collector contracted by the County (§ 25-10), at least once each week (§ 25-22). Section 25-18 A(2)(a) bars placing refuse in a street, alley, or other public place unless it is in proper receptacles for collection or under an express approval granted by the Director, so confirm with Public Works how bundled brush is to be set out on your road. Section 25-23 adds that the Director can authorize the collector to refuse unreasonable amounts of refuse.

The solid waste chapter covers the County exclusive of any incorporated municipality. Centreville, Queenstown, Church Hill, Sudlersville, Barclay, Templeville, and the county's part of Millington run their own codes. Kent Island, Stevensville, Chester, and Grasonville are unincorporated and fall under this chapter.