Sterling Heights, MI Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Container
- 39-gal paper bag or 95-gal cart
- Storage limit
- under 1 week before pickup
- Branch limit
- under 6 in. dia., 4 ft long
- Mixing
- can't combine with regular refuse
Summary
Grass clippings, leaves, and bundled brush under six inches thick and four feet long go out in a 39-gallon paper bag or 95-gallon cart on the regular collection day; stored yard waste can sit for less than a week and can't mix with regular trash.
Yard waste may be stored on the premises which generated the yard waste in approved bags or carts as provided in § 23-2(C) for less than one week prior to a scheduled city collection... Yard waste may be placed in approved bags or carts as provided in § 23-2(C) for collection on a regularly scheduled collection day. Yard waste shall not be mixed with other refuse.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-46: Local legislation current through Ord. 509, passed 5-19-26).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 23 defines yard waste as grass clippings, leaves, weeds, twigs, garden waste, and bundled tree or shrub branches under six inches in diameter and four feet long, with twigs and prunings pencil-thin or smaller. Under § 23-2(C), it must go out in a 39-gallon paper yard waste bag or a 95-gallon cart bought from the city's waste contractor, except bundled small branches, which skip the bag. Section 23-26 caps on-property storage at under a week before the scheduled collection, allows storage instead in a compliant compost pile, and bars mixing yard waste with regular refuse or dumping it in a right-of-way.
Violations & Fines
Yard waste that doesn't conform, wrong container, mixed with refuse, or dumped off-property, gets tagged and rejected under § 23-21, with a city special collection and bill to follow if it isn't corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave a pile of leaves at the curb unbagged in Sterling Heights?
How long can yard waste sit in my yard before collection?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sterling Heights
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Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Macomb County handle yard waste collection.