Ventura, CA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Max bundle diameter
- 18 inches
- Max bundle length
- 5 feet
- Max bundle weight
- 75 pounds
- Landscaper exemption
- § 6.500.230(A), incidental to their service
- Green waste defined
- § 6.500.120
Summary
Ventura's code defines green waste as tree trimmings, grass, leaves, and branches, and requires oversized yard debris too big for a cart to be bundled: tied bundles no more than 18 inches across, five feet long and 75 pounds, left beside the container. Hire a landscaper to haul it away instead, and no city permit is needed.
“Green waste” means tree trimmings, grass cuttings, dead plants, leaves, branches, dead trees, and other miscellaneous organic material generated at residential and commercial premises. ... F. ... If solid waste, either from residential premises or from commercial businesses, is too large to be placed in a container but is to be collected by a franchisee, it shall be carefully placed beside the container, in securely tied bundles not in excess of 18 inches in diameter and five feet in length and weighing not more than 75 pounds. ... A. ... Green waste removed from a premises by a gardening, landscaping, or tree trimming contractor as an incidental part of a total service offered by that contractor rather than as a transportation service.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-008, passed May 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
530. 150(F) requires it to be carefully placed beside the container in securely tied bundles that don't exceed 18 inches in diameter, five feet in length, or 75 pounds; loose branch piles left at the curb outside that format fall outside the collection rule. 230(A) exempts green waste removed by a gardening, landscaping, or tree-trimming contractor when that removal is an incidental part of a broader service the contractor is providing, rather than a standalone hauling job. 310 permit to do so lawfully in the city.
Violations & Fines
Yard debris left as an untied, oversized pile rather than in a compliant bundle can be refused by the franchisee, and the property remains subject to the city's general solid-waste-accumulation rules, which the city has declared a public nuisance matter under § 6.500.110. A hauler who removes green waste for pay without a franchise, permit, or the § 6.500.230(A) landscaper exemption is violating the city's unlawful-collection prohibition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave loose tree branches at the curb in Ventura?
Do I need a city permit if my gardener hauls away my yard waste?
What exactly counts as green waste under Ventura's code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Ventura County handle yard waste collection.