No Cost Yardwaste Seasons
In the spring and fall there are six weeks of no cost, separate yardwaste collection. During these periods yardwaste is collected separately on your regular collection day and taken to the Oma-Gro composting facility. For these periods purchased stickers will not be required for paper yardwaste bags but will continue to be required for bundles of brush. Your black lid garbage cart may also be used for yardwaste, however it will not be composted.
The next no cost yardwaste season will be: October 28 to December 6, 2024.
Year around yardwaste may go loose in the black lid cart at no cost. Paper yardwaste bags or bundles of brush outside the cart will require purchased yardwaste stickers except during the separate collection season. For a listing of stores that sell the stickers click here.
The Oma-Gro facility will accept from individuals, yardwaste hauled to them. There is no charge. See information below.
Most of the year your yardwaste should fit in your waste cart where it will share space with your weekly garbage. We recommend that you put it in the cart loose so you fit the most in. We also recommend that you put a bag of garbage in the cart first (yardwaste alone has a tendency to pack in tight and not fall out).
But what about times when you have more than will fit, like the spring and fall?
For six weeks each spring and six weeks each fall, the City is ready to take on that surge of yardwaste through a separate yardwaste collection contract. You can put your excess yardwaste in the paper yardwaste bags outside of your cart for collection. The paper yardwaste bags may weigh up to 40 pounds. For these 12 weeks each year that yardwaste, as much as you want, will be collected separately and composted!
What if I have excess yardwaste at other times of the year?
The City has a plan for that, too. You can purchase yardwaste stickers for your yardwaste paper bags or properly bundles brush. The cost of stickers is adjusted annually by contract based on the Consumer Price Index. The year issued is printed on the sticker. The sticker color changes annually. Stickers are valid for that year and the following year, and every bag or bundle you put out must have its own sticker. Stickers have the year on them and are good for the year issued and the following year. Once again, there is no limit if all your bags are stickered! This stickered yardwaste will be collected with your carted waste. A list of retailers that sell the stickers may be found by clicking here. Please read the rules on the sticker for proper placement.
Oma-Gro will receive self-hauled yardwaste at no charge
New location! The Oma-Gro Production facility has moved.
Now located at 6606 S 60th Street, Omaha. This is at 60th & Harrison, the former Al Veys ballfields. The hours that they receive self-haul yardwaste are:
- Now through December 6, 2024, the hours for receiving yardwaste from the public are Monday through Friday, 7am until 6pm. Closed City of Omaha Holidays. ‡
- From December 9 through December 20, 2024, the hours for receiving yardwaste from the public are Monday through Friday, 7am until 3pm. Closed City of Omaha Holidays. ‡
- From December 23, 2024, until February 28, 2025, the facility will be temporarily closed to the public.
- March 3, 2025, the facility will reopen to the public.
‡ The City of Omaha holidays are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday Immediately After Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.
Requirements and limitations for self-haul yardwaste drop off:
- Customers must stop by the office for permission to unload.
- Allow enough time to unload your material.
- All yardwaste material must be equal to the material allowed for collection by the City of Omaha’s collection contractor. (no plastic bags, no stumps, no branches larger than 2 inches in diameter)
- Oma-Gro reserves the right to prevent anyone from unloading at the Oma-Gro Production facility.
- There is no charge to unload.
- No sales of bagged or bulk Oma-Gro at this location until sometime after August, 2025.
Proper Yardwaste Preparation
Yes!
- Special yardwaste paper bags weighing up to 45 pounds.
- Bundles of branches and brush, tied with string or natural twine. Bundles may weigh up to 40 pounds and must have a prepaid yardwaste sticker attached to the bundle.
- Grass clippings and leaves.
- Garden waste such as fallen apples, rotted or excess vegetables and fruit.
- Branches may be up to 2 inches in diameter and 4 feet in length.
- Christmas trees when properly prepared, otherwise take Christmas trees to a Christmas tree drop-off site. For more information about Christmas tree drop-off sites, click here.
No!
- Plastic bags used in yardwaste collection outside of your waste cart (yard waste may be placed in plastic bags if placed INSIDE your waste cart)
- No saw dust, lumber or treated lumber.
- Litter, trash or garbage.
- Whole bags of dirt or sod.
- Street sweeping sand, litter, or rocks.
- Cardboard boxes of yardwaste.
- Pet manure or kitty litter.
- Branches over 2 inches in diameter.
- Branches over 4 feet long.
- Plastic twine, nylon twine or wire used on brush.
- Rope of any kind.
- Unbundled brush.
- Christmas trees that have not been prepared for collection.
ReCollect Widget
- Place your waste cart at your collection point by 6AM.
- Leave three feet of space between waste and recycling carts.
- Waste and recycling carts must be removed from the curb by 10AM the day after collections.
How to Prepare Other Items for Collection
BY THE NUMBERS…
2023 Collection & Self haul
12 Weeks of Seasonal Collection, Self Haul, and Spring/Fall Cleanup
Yardwaste Tons Collected: 6,718