Yonkers, NY Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

City Code § 92-3 defines yard waste narrowly as leaves, small branches, twigs and brush, one of the residential recyclable materials source-separation covers under § 92-4(A). Collection itself runs on a dedicated schedule: § 92-5(A)(3) assigns yard waste, together with newsprint and cardboard, to the Wednesday collection route, separate from the Monday/Thursday and Tuesday/Friday routes that handle household waste and commingled metals, glass and plastic. Section 92-5(C) fixes the container rule: yard waste must be placed in an open refuse container or in a brown paper bag, which rules out sealed plastic bags that other municipalities allow.

on the Wednesday collection day per § 92-5(E). Residents are not required to put yard waste out at all; § 92-4(E) expressly protects private composting of garden and yard waste on the generator's own property from any obligation under the chapter. The Commissioner of Public Works administers the schedule and may change it, but only after posting notice in the City's official newspapers for two weeks beforehand under § 92-5(F). Nonresidential generators face a parallel yard waste composting exemption under § 92-6(E), though their collection arrangements run through licensed private haulers rather than City pickup.