Fulton County, GA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Fulton County Code § 70-87(a)(2) requires registered haulers to collect yard trimmings curbside at least once every other week, and subsections a through e set the handling rules: yard trimmings "shall not be placed in or mixed with solid waste" (a); "shall not be disposed of in solid waste disposal facilities that have liners and leachate collection systems or that require vertical expansion" (b); must be "sorted and stored for collection in a manner that facilitates collection, composting or other lawful handling," with plastic-bag collection of yard trimmings prohibited (c); must be "sorted and stockpiled until they are recycled ultimately by chipping, mulching, composting or other beneficial use" once collected (d); and "landfill disposal of yard trimmings is prohibited" outright (e). Section 70-81 defines yard trimmings as leaves, brush, grass clippings, shrub and tree prunings, discarded Christmas trees, and nursery, greenhouse and landscaping vegetative residuals, other than mining, agricultural or silvicultural material.

These handling rules are backed by separate violations in § 70-84(a)(7) and (8): it is a violation of the division to place yard trimmings in or mixed with solid waste, and a separate violation to place yard trimmings in plastic bags for collection. Residents who compost their own yard trimmings on their property are expressly exempt from the division under § 70-85(c). Fulton County also runs a free monthly drop-off for recyclable goods and yard trimmings at the Merk/Miles Transfer Station on the third Saturday of each month, per § 70-32, for residents who want to bypass curbside pickup.

Like the rest of Chapter 70, this division reaches unincorporated Fulton County only (§ 70-84(a)(1)). Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills and South Fulton set their own yard-waste rules; this ordinance does not reach those addresses.