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

Chapter 496, Part 2 defines 'yard waste' narrowly at §496-201 as leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings and similar material, 'but not including grass clippings,' and requires it to go out in a 'yard waste bag,' defined as a thirty-gallon or equivalent biodegradable Kraft paper bag. Yard waste was added to the City's list of designated recyclable materials by Ord. No. 98-2021 (December 27, 2021), amending §496-204B, so it is a mandatory recycling category alongside single-stream materials, electronics and tires rather than ordinary trash.

Unlike weekly curbside trash and recycling pickup, yard waste is not automatic: §496-206B(5) makes it a request-based service, available to 'units enrolled in the municipal collection program' only 'by contacting the City to request service,' alongside electronic waste and tires. The Public Works Director or a designee sets the specific limits and procedures for how much yard waste can go out and how often (§496-206B(5)(d)). Because grass clippings are carved out of the definition, they are not part of this collection track at all, leaving residents to manage clippings through mulching, composting or a private hauler.

The rule sits inside the same mandatory framework as the rest of Chapter 496, so a property owner is responsible under §496-205A for knowing and following the yard waste procedures and passing them on to tenants, and the same solid waste and recycling penalty structure in §496-212 applies to violations.