Yard Waste and Brush Rules on Cape Cod

Why you cannot put yard waste in the trash

MassDEP's waste disposal bans cover leaves and other yard waste. The regulation, 310 CMR 19.017, says no landfill, transfer facility or combustion facility shall accept the restricted material. In practice, a facility can take it only to handle, recycle or compost it under a plan the department has approved. That is why transfer stations keep a separate compost area.

What counts as yard waste

The regulation defines yard waste as deciduous and coniferous seasonal deposition, such as leaves, plus grass clippings, weeds, hedge clippings, garden materials and brush. MassDEP's fact sheet is more specific about brush: grass clippings, weeds, garden materials, shrub trimmings, and brush one inch or less in diameter, but not diseased plants.

Anything thicker than that falls under wood. The same fact sheet lists clean wood, meaning trees, stumps and brush including sawdust, chips, shavings and bark, as its own banned material, and says wood may be disposed of at combustion facilities. So a pile of limbs and a pile of leaves can follow different routes.

How two Cape towns handle it

There is no Cape-wide yard waste site. We read the published rules for Yarmouth and Mashpee, and the details differ.

• Yarmouth: grass and leaves go to the compost area, placed without bags or containers. Only compostable material is accepted there, and nothing larger than a finger's diameter. Access is limited to sticker holders and non-commercial vehicles, and no commercial grass and leaves are accepted.
• Yarmouth brush: the fee schedule lists brush as a chargeable material, with no stumps accepted and lengths no larger than 4 feet.
• Mashpee: leaves, grass clippings and soft shrub trimmings can be brought in for composting. Brush and Christmas trees are accepted if the branches are 6 inches or less, up to a limit of about 2 barrels. Trees and excess brush are prohibited at the station and go to a separate location the regulations name.

Mashpee residents can see the rest of the local picture on our Mashpee page.

Before you load the truck

1. Separate leaves, grass and soft trimmings from limbs and stumps. They go different places.
2. Empty bags. Yarmouth, for one, asks for grass and leaves without bags or containers.
3. Cut brush to the size your town allows. Mashpee lists 6 inches or less in branch diameter and Yarmouth lists lengths no larger than 4 feet.
4. Check your sticker or permit and whose vehicle it covers. Both towns above restrict commercial use of at least part of the site.
5. Call your town's transfer station about stumps, large limbs and whole trees.

When the pile is bigger than one trip

Storm cleanup or a property sale can leave more brush than a household sticker was meant for, and the towns above restrict commercial use. For a larger job, see our junk removal and hauling page or the overview on our junk removal page. To ask about a job, request a quote or call (508) 400-5788 any time, 24 hours a day. For who can use each station, read Cape Cod transfer stations: who can use them.

Common questions