Southfield, MI Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Southfield City Code Chapter 17 defines yard wastes at Sec. 2.1(5) as grass clippings, leaves, shrub trimmings and other debris from ordinary lawn and landscaping upkeep, excluding excavated earth. Under Sec. 2.6, yard waste bundles go out at the front curb no earlier than 4:00 p.m. the day before the resident's published collection day, and empty containers must come back in by noon the following day. Sec. 2.5 sets the physical limits: brush and small trees must be cut into sections no more than three feet long and tied, no single bundle may exceed four feet in length, and the weight limit for any container, article or bundle is sixty pounds.

A bundle that does not meet these requirements is tagged by the crew with the reason collection was refused instead of being picked up. Larger branches, defined in Sec. 2.3 as tree trunks or branches over three inches in diameter or longer than four feet, fall outside the residential yard waste program entirely; they are classified as commercial rubbish that the property owner's contractor must remove. The city's director of public services, who heads the Department of Public Works, administers collection and can issue rules governing how refuse, including yard waste, is gathered and hauled.

Because yard waste is folded into the same weekly residential pickup as household refuse rather than a separate seasonal program, there is no extra fee beyond the standard refuse collection charge billed under Sec. 2.7 and assessed against the property with municipal taxes.