Pittsburgh Yard Waste Collection: Dates, Drop-Offs, and a Prep Checker

The short answer for the rest of 2026

Pittsburgh’s next special curbside yard-debris collection is Saturday, November 7, 2026. The spring collection already occurred on April 18. That detail matters because the printed 2026 mailer showed April 25, but the City later moved the event one week earlier. A resident using the original calendar alone would have had the wrong spring date.

The special Saturday collection is useful when leaves, grass, brush, and modest branches can be prepared to the City’s exact rules. It is not the only route. Pittsburgh also accepts yard waste throughout the year at three staffed Public Works divisions, subject to current hours and vehicle-based fees.

Use the prep checker above before reading the route details. It does not schedule service or send information anywhere. It simply turns the City’s rules into a quick result and explains what to correct.

What belongs in the special curbside collection

The City’s corrected spring notice identifies leaves, brush, grass, and branches under the size limit as accepted yard debris. Put loose plant material in paper bags, not plastic. Branches must be under 5 feet long and under 4 inches in diameter, then gathered with natural-fiber twine or rope.

That means a practical set-out can include dry leaves, ordinary lawn clippings, spent garden plants, light brush, and small pruned branches. It cannot become a general outdoor-cleanup pile. The City expressly excludes plastic bags, metal or wire, rocks, blocks, bricks, ceramics, dirt, gravel, glass, plastic, manure, trash, and recycling. A paper bag does not make an excluded material acceptable.

Keep these categories separate while working. Use one area for baggable plant material, one for branches that need measuring and tying, and another for material that needs a different route. Sorting on the lawn is easier than opening bags at the curb after discovering a rock, flowerpot, plastic plant label, or wire tie.

Prepare bags and bundles so crews can handle them

For curbside collection, place paper bags and eligible bundles at the property’s usual trash and recycling pickup point before 6 a.m. on the special Saturday. Do not rely on a crew arriving at the same hour as an ordinary weekly route.

The City Controller’s 2026 recycling performance audit states that yard-debris paper bags must weigh less than 35 pounds. Even when a bag is below that number, avoid packing wet leaves until the paper is strained. Wet material is much heavier than it appears, and a failing bag creates loose debris in the collection path. Let rainwater drain from freshly gathered material, distribute heavy clippings across additional bags, and keep bags sheltered until the authorized set-out time when possible.

Measure the thickest and longest part of every branch. Cutting only the twig ends does not make an oversize trunk section eligible. Use natural-fiber twine or rope around a bundle that one person can control. Plastic cord and metal wire are excluded; they also create avoidable handling hazards. Do not hide stones, soil, or hardware inside a branch bundle.

When a City drop-off is the better route

A year-round drop-off is often more useful when the special date is months away, a project cannot remain stored, or you want to make several small trips. The City’s current drop-off directory lists three Public Works divisions that accept yard waste:

Hours can change for holidays, weather, staffing, or emergency operations. Open the official directory or call the listed division before loading a vehicle, especially for a Saturday or a large load.

The drop-off fee depends on the vehicle

The City’s current directory and 2026 operating budget match on the basic yard-debris fee structure. Cars and SUVs without trailers are free. Trucks, vans, and vehicles towing trailers are $22. Dump trucks and large box vans require prior approval from the Public Works director and are $54. The directory says checks and money orders payable to the Treasurer, City of Pittsburgh are accepted; it says cash and cards are not.

Do not choose a larger vehicle merely because the material itself is accepted. A small load in a pickup is still in the paid vehicle class. Conversely, “free” does not mean unlimited or unstaffed. Keep proof of City residency available, contain the load securely, and follow staff directions about where to unload.

If the material came from a paid landscaping or tree service, ask the contractor to identify the receiving facility and include removal in the written scope. Do not assume a commercial truck can use the resident process or fee.

Material that needs another plan

Large logs, stumps, soil, gravel, landscape blocks, fencing wire, plastic edging, planters, and demolition debris are not ordinary yard debris merely because they came from outside. Separate those materials before transport. For a large trunk, root ball, or mixed hardscape load, confirm a transfer station, tree contractor, landscape-material facility, or private hauler before moving it.

The same rule applies after a storm. The City may announce temporary debris instructions that differ from routine yard-waste service. Check current City alerts before assuming an emergency pile follows the biannual program.

If the cleanup also includes ordinary bulk furniture or household refuse, review the Pittsburgh bulk pickup guide instead of mixing those items into leaf bags. If it includes paint, pesticides, fuel, or other chemicals, use the paint disposal guide or the broader Allegheny County household hazardous waste guide.

A five-minute plan before you start raking

1. Decide between the November 7 curbside event and a staffed year-round drop-off.
2. Set out paper bags, natural-fiber twine, a tape measure, and separate containers for rejected material.
3. Keep leaves, grass, brush, and eligible branches free of soil, stones, wire, plastic, and trash.
4. Weigh or split dense bags before the paper is stressed.
5. Measure branch diameter and length before bundling.
6. For drop-off, check the site’s current hours, residency requirement, vehicle fee, and accepted payment method.
7. Secure the load for travel and do not leave material outside a closed facility.

That workflow prevents the two most frustrating outcomes: a curbside pile left behind for a preparation problem, or a loaded vehicle arriving at a site that is closed or uses a different fee class than expected.