Wauwatosa, WI Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Wauwatosa Municipal Code § 8.25.130 splits residential yard service into two phases. In the regular curbside season, leaves and brush go out in labeled reusable containers, approved paper bags or a city yard waste cart. In leaf collection season, the code lets residents rake leaves into city street gutters for curb collection by city crews, and § 8.28.060 confirms that depositing leaves along the curb for city pick-up is not litter under § 8.28.050.

The city's Fall Leaf Collection page says it picks up leaves and soft plant material at the curb for all residential properties in Wauwatosa, and that residents could begin raking leaves out to the street as early as Monday, October 12, 2026. The page does not print a final rake-out date. It states that the final date is dependent on weather conditions and will be different depending on where you live, and it sends residents to the interactive leaf collection map for neighborhood-specific collection dates. The page also warns that the schedule can be affected by weather, so the map is worth rechecking during the season. Code § 8.25.130 itself puts the dates on the city's website and newsletter rather than in the ordinance.

Branches and woody yard material are a separate matter. The city does not collect them at the curb during leaf collection. Section 8.25.130 says brush and branches under six inches in diameter can only go to the drop-off center at the public works yard during that time, apart from "special pick-ups" under § 8.24.070. The city page gives two options: bring woody material to the Drop Off Center for a $5 per load charge, or arrange a Special Collection at your curb for a fee. The fee amount for the Special Collection is not printed on the leaf page.

The Drop Off Center is at 11100 W. Walnut Road, entered on 113th Street off Watertown Plank Road, not from Mayfair Road. Current hours are Wednesday and Saturdays, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, and the center is closed on holidays. It accepts residential yard waste including brush, branches, leaves and logs at $5 per load, or you can buy an Annual Yard Waste Only Permit for $20, good for one calendar year and one household. A valid Wisconsin drivers license with a current Wauwatosa address is required to enter or buy any permit. Under the code, drop-off material goes in loose, not in plastic bags.

If your street is being paved or having road work done, the city asks you not to rake leaves into the street until the final coat of asphalt has been applied. Questions go to (414) 471-8422.

The regular bag, container and bundle season is separate. The city's yard waste page says curbside yard waste collection began April 27, 2026 and ended September 25, 2026, so those rules, including the cap of 10 containers, bags or bundles, do not govern leaf raking now. Grass clippings are never accepted, either at the curb or at the drop-off center. Leaf burning is also banned: § 14.26.010 prohibits burning leaves or lawn or garden refuse on private property, public property or rights-of-way.