Yard Waste

The City of Ypsilanti collects residential yard waste curbside.  Yard waste consists of grass clippings, leaves, garden material, and bundled or contained branches that are not to exceed four (4) inches in diameter, or four (4) feet in length. View yard waste guidelines in PDF form.  We cannot accept certain invasive plants in our yard waste collection.

Yard waste will be picked up on your recycling day. Curbside services typically begin the early April and continue through late November.  In 2023, yard waste services begin April 17.  Beginning May 15th 2023, yard waste pickup will be moving to an every-other-week pickup schedule until leaf season.  Check your schedule here.

Please place at curb no later than 6 a.m. on your recycling pickup day or the evening before.

How do I prepare yard waste for pick-up?

  • Place in a labelled 32-gallon or smaller trash can with handles, or in brown paper compost bags. Cans larger 32 gallons can not be accepted, regardless of overall weight.
  • Bags or cans must weigh less than 50 pounds. 
  • Place bags or can approximately six feet from trash.
  • Stickers for reusable containers may be obtained at the Department of Public Services or City Hall at no charge.
  • Must not contain rubbish, dirt, sod, stones,  planters, plastic bags, invasive species, or recyclables. 
    • The presence of dirt, rubbish, sod, or other noncompostible material will slow down the process of composting (as it will absorb heat, rather than generate it).  This will also lower the quality of the finished compost that is freely available to residents. 
    • Invasive species are weedy, fast-spreading species that are generally damaging to the local ecosystem.  Many common invasive plant species can survive the levels of heat generated in local composting operations, and be spread in the finished compost that is freely available to residents- thus spreading the invasive species more widely.   Common invasive plant species in Ypsilanti include:

Where does it go?

The City manages a small yard waste compost yard off of Catherine Street.  This yard is not open to the public and we do not accept drop-offs from the public; the site is monitored for illegal dumping.

As compost is finished and as wood chips are made, the City sets out both in a small  area at the northeast corner of Spring and Catherine.  Residents &/or property owners are welcome to take and use these materials within the City.