Arlington provides weekly curbside collection of yard waste to single-family homes, duplexes and some townhomes in the County. Yard waste collection occurs on your regular scheduled trash collection day.
Accepted Materials
Acceptable yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves and trimmings too small to be included as bundled brush. Small branches and limbs must be no longer than four feet and no thicker than three inches in diameter. For larger limbs or tree trunks, schedule a free brush pickup.
The following yard waste must be small enough to fit in your County provided green yard waste cart (also used for food scraps), paper lawn/leaf bags or your own personal container (20 to 32-gallon).
- Acorns
- Bamboo trimmings
- Dead plants
- Dethatching material
- Flower and vegetable bed debris (corn stalks, tomato plants, etc.)
- Flowers
- Grass clippings
- Hay/straw
- Ivy
- Leaves
- Ornamental grass
- Pine cones and needles
- Shrub trimmings
- Small tree limbs
- Twigs
- Vines
- Weeds
- Wood chips, mulch
Yard trimmings are composted and made into mulch or a variety of soil amendments depending on the material and the time of the year. The composting process makes the materials heat up causing weeds, invasive materials and other unwanted yard waste to die.
If you contract with a landscaping company that uses your County-provided collection services to dispose of yard waste, you are responsible for coordinating with your contractor to ensure that any yard waste is placed in your County-provided yard waste cart, paper bags, bundles or household containers and set out for collection after 5 p.m. on the day prior to your service day. Your contractor may not set out yard waste in plastic bags for collection. Plastic isn’t compostable and won’t be collected. Only biodegradable paper yard waste bags will be collected.
If you do not have an organics yard waste cart and would like one, call Customer Contact Center at 703-228-5000.
Customers can also use biodegradable paper bags for yard trimmings. Call the Customer Contact Center at 703-228-5000 with any questions.
While supplies last for spring and fall cleanup seasons, free biodegradable paper bags for pickup at the following locations during fall leaf and spring-cleanup seasons only. Limit 15 per residence. Paper yard waste bags are also sold at most hardware stores.
Bags will be available for the fall starting Monday, Oct. 28, while supplies last, at:
2100 Clarendon Blvd., 703-228-3000, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
2121 N. Culpeper St., 703-228-5210, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
4300 29th St. S., 703-228-6570, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
3501 2nd St. S., 703-228-5920, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
3829 N Stafford St, 703-228-5310, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
735 18th St S, 703-228-5715, Monday, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.; Tuesday, 12 p.m.-8 p.m.; Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
625 S Carlin Springs Rd, 703-228-6535, Tuesday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Starting Nov. 13: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
- Place your yard trimmings at the curb no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before and by 6 a.m. on your collection day.
- Items may be collected in your County provided green organics yard waste cart, paper lawn/leaf bags, personal reusable household containers that are between 20 and 32 gallons or tied bundles.
- Items placed in your County provided cart must weigh less than 200 pounds.
- If paper lawn/leaf bags or personal containers are used to collect materials, they must weigh less than 50 pounds.
- Yard waste must not be included with regular trash. Trash will not be collected if trash and yard waste are mixed.
- Remove dirt, stones, litter, sod and other debris from your yard waste.
- Small branches, not placed in your County provided green yard waste cart should be tied with string or twine into manageable bundles no heavier than 50 pounds.
- Yard waste placed at the curb in plastic bags will not be collected.
- Brush and tree limbs too large to be collected during regular yard trimmings collection can be collected by scheduling a large brush collection.
- Collected yard waste material will be delivered to a Virginia-permitted composting facility certified by the U.S. Composting Council.
Did we miss your cart, paper bag or bundle? Click here to find out how to report a missed collection request.