Wilmington, NC Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Section 10-6(c) sets precise dimensions for what the city will pick up at curbside: tree trunks, limbs, branches, tree trimmings, hedge cuttings, bagged leaves, pine straw, and grass clippings must be stacked neatly for handling, with limbs capped at six inches in diameter and four feet in length. Total weekly volume for occupant-cut material is capped at seven cubic yards, defined by the code as a space five feet wide, three and one-half feet high, and eleven feet long, counting both loose and bagged material together.

Smaller items must be separated from household trash and bagged, boxed, or containerized by the customer in units no larger than thirty-five gallons or fifty pounds, and tarps cannot be used to contain the pile. The service is limited to occupants of the premises served: the city will not collect branches, trimmings, or limbs generated by land-clearing work, from unimproved property, or from tree service companies, landscapers, independent contractors, or anyone who is not the resident. Yard waste left in trucks, trailers, wheelbarrows, or carts is also excluded from collection. 00 civil penalty under Section 10-2(b), with each day the noncompliant material remains counted as a separate offense.