Toledo, OH Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Toledo's Division of Solid Waste, operating under the Rules and Regulations issued by the Director of Public Service (Appendix D to the Codified Ordinances), treats yard waste as ordinary household refuse rather than as a separate curbside stream. Section 213 defines "yard waste" as all garden residues, leaves, grass clippings, shrubbery and tree prunings, tree trimmings and other plant waste generated by gardening or landscaping, and states plainly that it "will only be collected if it fits into your regular refuse container", the gray, City-issued cart. That rule is unchanged: bagged leaves and grass clippings are not picked up as a separate stream, and nothing about the container limit was affected by the 2026 collection changes.

What did change is the route for anything that does not fit. Under the City's bulk collection rules effective January 5, 2026, residents may "place up to 5 bulk items at the curb each week with their regularly scheduled trash pickup", with no appointment, and each item or bundle must be under 40 lbs. Branches, wood and rugs must be tied "in a 3' x 4' bundle", and loose material must be bagged, because loose unbagged or unbundled debris is on the City's not-collected list. Practically, a homeowner clearing storm-downed limbs now bundles them to size and sets out up to five bundles on the ordinary collection day rather than calling ahead.

Older guidance describing a different route is out of date. Appendix D Section 209 still describes an oversized and bulky item collection requiring a scheduled pick-up at least 48 business hours before collection day, limited to once per quarter, with a $50 charge for a second request in the same quarter, and specifies bundles up to six feet long and two feet in diameter. The City discontinued that scheduled service, with December 30, 2025 the last day to book one, and replaced it with the weekly allowance described above. Because Appendix D Section 101 provides that these regulations are issued by the Director, the City's currently published rules govern while the codified appendix text lags.

Placement rules still apply to any yard waste set out. Section 206 requires containers out by 7:00 a.m. on collection day, or after 5:00 p.m. the evening before, and pulled back in by 7:00 p.m. the same day, kept at least three feet clear of parked cars, utility poles, trees, mailboxes and fire hydrants. Section 501 lets the Division skip any container, including one overloaded with yard debris, that is damaged, frozen to the ground, or otherwise out of compliance with the placement and preparation rules.

Holiday trees are handled separately under Section 214: the Division does not collect them curbside, and residents must use a recycling center or a designated drop-off location instead. Residents composting food scraps have a further option, the City's free GoZERO food waste drop-off totes at three Metroparks locations, though that program covers food waste rather than yard trimmings.