Warwick, RI Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Sec. 22-171 establishes a mandatory source-separation collection program for leaf and yard waste, run on a schedule the director of public works sets. Sec. 22-172 defines the collection season as April 1 through December 15 each year and spells out the containers: barrels no larger than 50 gallons and 55 pounds that residents supply themselves, and paper leaf bags of about 30-gallon capacity in standard 16-by-12-by-35-inch dimensions, sold for residential purchase. Brush is limited to branches, clippings and vines no more than five feet long and three inches in diameter.

Sec. 22-173 spells out the placement rules: during the season, leaf and yard waste goes into paper bags or barrels, brush gets bundled and tied to no more than five feet, and everything is set at curbside on the collection days the department advertises in local newspapers. No plastic bags are accepted for leaf and yard waste at curbside at any time of year, nothing but yard waste may go in the bags or barrels, and closures are limited to staples, string or an open top; tape isn't accepted.

Sec. 22-174 offers a separate, year-round voluntary drop-off site where residents may use plastic bags to transport material, provided they empty the bags before disposal, and where commercial, industrial, agricultural and institutional generators must first buy a disposal permit from the recycling office. Sec. 22-175 lets the director or project manager simply refuse to collect noncompliant material, leaving the resident to fix it and remove it from the curb before the next scheduled pickup. Sec. 22-176 separately promotes voluntary backyard composting, with information available from public works on request.