Adams County, CO Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Program type
- No county-run yard waste collection; private hauler option only
- Governing definition
- 'Yard trimmings' = grass, branches, leaves, twigs, shrub clippings
- Hauler duty
- Must not discard properly separated yard trimmings as trash
- Reporting
- Tonnage reported annually by Jan. 31 via ReTRAC Connect
- Enforcing agency
- Community and Economic Development Department
- Max fine
- $1,000 civil infraction per day of violation
Summary
Adams County does not run its own yard waste collection program. Under Ordinance No. 17, licensed Solid Waste Haulers may include grass clippings, branches, leaves and shrub trimmings, defined as 'yard trimmings,' in their routes, but the County only requires that haulers who choose to collect them handle the material under the same recycling-diversion duties that apply to recyclables and food scraps.
Yard trimmings shall mean grass, grass clippings, bushes, branches, leaves, twigs, shrubs, and clippings from bushes and shrubs. They may come from residential, commercial/retail, institutional, or industrial sources as part of maintaining yards or other private or public lands. ... All licensed Solid Waste Haulers that collect recyclable materials, food scraps, and/or yard trimmings operating within the county shall have the following duties and rights: a) Except for materials that customers have not properly prepared for collection, Solid Waste Haulers shall not dispose of recyclable materials, set out by customers by any means that may result in the materials not being recycled or properly processed. ... d) All recyclable materials placed for collection shall be owned by, and be the responsibility of, the customer until the materials are collected by the Solid Waste Hauler, at which point the materials shall become the property and the responsibility of the Solid Waste Hauler.
Full Breakdown
Ordinance No. 17, the Solid Waste Hauler Ordinance, defines 'yard trimmings' at Section 2 as grass, grass clippings, bushes, branches, leaves, twigs, shrubs, and clippings from bushes and shrubs, whether generated on residential, commercial, institutional or industrial land. E only obligates haulers to offer curbside recycling of the Minimum Recyclables List, and yard trimmings collection is a separate, optional service line. 4's duties: the hauler cannot dispose of properly source-separated material by any means that keeps it from being recycled or processed, must adopt written policies for orderly collection and preparation of the material, remains responsible for compliance even when a subcontractor performs the pickup, and takes ownership and responsibility for the yard trimmings the moment they are collected from the curb, before which the material remains the customer's property.
3, which lists 'Yard Trimmings' as its own reporting line submitted by January 31 each year through the ReTRAC Connect system, separate from ordinary trash and from commingled recyclables. Because no ordinance regulates yard waste directly, unincorporated residents needing brush or yard debris hauled beyond what their private hauler offers must arrange separate disposal at a licensed solid waste facility. The Community and Economic Development Department, which administers the whole ordinance, is the point of contact for questions about whether a given hauler's route includes yard trimmings.
Violations & Fines
There is no yard-waste-specific citation. A Solid Waste Hauler that mishandles collected yard trimmings, for example dumping source-separated material as trash, violates Ordinance No. 17's general enforcement provisions at Section 8: a civil infraction carrying up to a $1,000 fine, with a graduated schedule of $500 max for a first or second offense, $750 minimum for a third, and up to $1,000 per day after that, plus a $10 court surcharge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Adams County pick up yard waste curbside?
What counts as 'yard trimmings' under county ordinance?
Who is responsible for yard trimmings once they're set at the curb?
What happens if a hauler dumps separated yard trimmings as regular trash?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Adams County
Compare Adams County to another location·View the Colorado trash & recycling overview
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