---
title: Richmond yard waste collection and drop-off
question: "Where does yard waste and brush go?"
place: Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/richmond
category: Garbage, recycling and waste
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Richmond
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/yard-waste/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/yard-waste.json"
---

# Richmond yard waste collection and drop-off

**Question:** Where does yard waste and brush go?

**Short answer:** In the City of Richmond, put yard and garden trimmings in your Green Cart for weekly curbside collection, or take them to the Richmond Recycling Depot at 5555 Lynas Lane. The first cubic yard is free for residents, then $25 per cubic yard. Yard trimmings are banned from garbage.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Richmond, https://www.richmond.ca)  
**Cost:** Curbside: included in the annual utility bill. Depot drop-off: first cubic yard free for Richmond residents, then $25 per cubic yard; commercial operators $25 per cubic yard. Replacing a Green Cart: $25.  
**How long:** The Green Cart is collected weekly on your collection day.  
**Where:**
- In person: Richmond Recycling Depot, 5555 Lynas Lane, Richmond, BC (Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.; closed statutory holidays. Show proof of residence. Phone 604-276-4010.)
- In person: Ecowaste Industries Limited, 15500 Blundell Road, Richmond, BC (Phone 604-277-1410. The City page does not state its hours or fees.)
- Online: Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off, https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm

## Key facts

- **Curbside collection:** Yes. Yard and garden trimmings go in the City-supplied Green Cart (shared with food scraps), collected weekly on your collection day. Extra trimmings can be put out in unlimited paper yard waste bags, a labelled Green Can, or tied bundles. Set out by 7:30 a.m. Applies to single-family, duplex and townhouse homes with curbside service; multi-family complexes arrange central collection through the strata or property manager.
  - Source: [Green Cart, Steps to Recycle Food Scraps; Tips](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/greencart.htm)
  - Official wording: "Place your Green Cart at the curb along with unlimited paper yard waste bags and/or Green Can with decals by 7:30 a.m. each week on your designated collection day." … "Ensure yard trimmings are tied bundles"
  - Source: [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation), s. 2.5.1, 2.5.4](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)
  - Official wording: "yard and garden trimmings, provided that such materials are:" … "securely tied in a bundle, provided the bundle is less than:" … "one (1) yard/food waste cart to each single-family dwelling and each unit in a duplex dwelling"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **How to set it out:** Green Can: rigid container with a lid and a City 'Yard Trimmings' decal, no more than 80 L and 20 kg (44 lb) when full. Bundles: securely tied, under 1 m long, 0.6 m wide, 0.3 m high and 20 kg (the City's page says no larger than 3 ft x 2 ft; branches under 4 in. / 10 cm thick). Or use compostable paper bags (no plastic). Branches must fit in the cart with the lid closed.
  - Source: [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation), s. 2.5.1](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)
  - Official wording: "metre (39 inches) in length; (B) 0.6 metres (24 inches) in width;" … "(C) 0.3 metres (12 inches) in height; and (D) 20 kilograms" … "(44 pounds) in weight; or" … "does not exceed a gross weight of 20 kilograms (44 lbs)" … "has a capacity not more than 80 litres (2.82 cubic feet) and a" … "placed entirely within a compostable paper bag which meets the"
  - Source: [Green Cart, Tips for Recycling Extra Yard Trimmings; What goes in](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/greencart.htm)
  - Official wording: "Containers cannot exceed 80 L in capacity and cannot weigh more than 20 kg (44 lbs)" … "tied bundles no larger than 3 feet x 2 feet (91 cm x 61 cm) in size and branches must be less than 4 inches in diameter" … "Branches must be no more than 10 cm (4 in) in diameter an cut to fit in the cart with the lid closed"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Drop-off:** Richmond Recycling Depot, 5555 Lynas Lane (604-276-4010), open 7 days a week 9 a.m. to 6:15 p.m., closed on statutory holidays; show proof of residence. Or Ecowaste Industries Limited, 15500 Blundell Rd (604-277-1410); its hours are not stated on the City page.
  - Source: [Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off, Drop-Off Locations](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm)
  - Official wording: "Please be prepared to show proof of residence." … "Ecowaste Industries Limited" … "15500 Blundell Rd , Richmond BC" … "Richmond Recycling Depot" … "5555 Lynas Lane, Richmond BC"
  - Source: [Recycling Depot, Location & Hours](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/recyclingservices/recyclingdepot.htm)
  - Official wording: "Open 7 days a week: 9:00am to 6:15pm. Depot is closed on statutory holidays."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Cost:** Curbside: included in the annual utility bill (Bylaw 6803 Schedule B yard/food waste fee of $185.56 a year per single-family or duplex unit). Depot drop-off: first cubic yard free for Richmond residents, $25 for each additional cubic yard; commercial operators $25 per cubic yard. Replacing a Green Cart: $25.
  - Source: [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation), Schedule B](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)
  - Official wording: "yard and garden trimmings and food waste from single-family dwellings and from" … "each unit in a duplex dwelling (per unit) $ 185.56" … "(a) (i) for yard and garden trimmings from residential properties" … "Fee for yard/food waste cart replacement $ 25.00"
  - Source: [Recycling Depot, Depot Fees](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/recyclingservices/recyclingdepot.htm)
  - Official wording: "Richmond residents: Up to 1 cubic yard FREE! Additional: $25 per 1 cubic yard." … "Commercial operators: $25 per cubic yard."
  - Source: [Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off, intro](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm)
  - Official wording: "Richmond residents can drop off yard trimmings at the City Recycling Depot free of charge, in amounts less than one cubic yard."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Not accepted:** Depot drop-off does not take diseased plants, garden hoses or flower pots, non-organic materials, wood products, or prunings over 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. The Green Cart does not take lumber, rocks, dirt or sod, prunings over 10 cm, pet feces or kitty litter, or plastic bags (even compostable ones); small amounts of clean, untreated wood are accepted. Yard trimmings are banned from garbage.
  - Source: [Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off, Materials Accepted for Drop-Off](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm)
  - Official wording: "Flowers | Diseased plants" … "Garden hoses or flower pots" … "Leaves | Non-organic materials" … "Prunings over 4 inches (10cm) in diameter" … "Tree & hedge prunings | Wood products"
  - Source: [Green Cart, What Goes in Your Green Cart?](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/greencart.htm)
  - Official wording: "Rocks, dirt or sod" … "Prunings over 10 cm (4 in) in diameter" … "Pet feces or kitty litter" … "Small amounts of clean, untreated wood"
  - Source: [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation), s. 2.5.3, 1.6.1(s)](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)
  - Official wording: "A person must not place or permit to be placed plastic bags, including" … "yard and garden trimmings and food waste;"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw No. 6803 (Part Two, s. 2.5 and Schedule B).
  - Source: [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation), title](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)
  - Official wording: "SOLID WASTE & RECYCLING REGULATION" … "BYLAW NO. 6803"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Yard and garden trimmings are banned from garbage. In the City of Richmond, homes with curbside service (single-family, duplex and townhouse) put them in the City-supplied Green Cart, which is shared with food scraps and collected weekly. Multi-family complexes arrange central collection through the strata or property manager. Under [Bylaw 6803](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf), a single-family home gets one yard and food waste cart and may request one additional cart.

## Steps

1. Put trimmings in the Green Cart. Branches must fit with the lid closed. Plastic bags, even compostable ones, are not allowed.
2. For extra trimmings, use unlimited compostable paper yard waste bags, a labelled Green Can, or tied bundles.
3. A Green Can is a rigid container with a lid and a City "Yard Trimmings" decal, no more than 80 L and 20 kg (44 lb) when full.
4. Set out by 7:30 a.m. on collection day.
5. For bigger loads, take them to the Richmond Recycling Depot with proof of residence, or to Ecowaste Industries.

## Good to know

- Bundles: the bylaw says securely tied, under 1 m long, 0.6 m wide, 0.3 m high and 20 kg. The City's page says no larger than 3 ft by 2 ft, with branches under 10 cm (4 in.) thick. Follow the stricter limit.
- Not accepted at the Depot: diseased plants, garden hoses or flower pots, non-organic materials, wood products, or prunings over 10 cm (4 in.) in diameter.
- Not accepted in the Green Cart: lumber, rocks, dirt or sod, prunings over 10 cm, pet feces or kitty litter, or plastic bags. Small amounts of clean, untreated wood are accepted.
- The drop-off page says free for amounts under one cubic yard, while the Depot page and bylaw say the first cubic yard is free. The free first cubic yard applies at the City Recycling Depot only.
- Curbside service is included in the annual utility bill. The bylaw schedule lists $185.56 a year per single-family or duplex unit for yard and food waste, before the early-payment discount.
- Sod, tree branches, logs and stumps over 15 cm in diameter are not collected as garbage.

## Official forms and pages

- [Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm)
- [Green Cart Recycling](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/greencart.htm)
- [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (PDF)](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf)

## Related questions

- [Richmond garbage collection: schedule, carts and limits](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/garbage-collection.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Yard waste collection in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/yard-waste.md)
- [Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/vancouver/yard-waste.md)
- [Burnaby](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/burnaby/yard-waste.md)
- [North Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver/yard-waste.md)
- [New Westminster](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-westminster/yard-waste.md)
- [Delta](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/delta/yard-waste.md)
- [District of North Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver-district/yard-waste.md)

## Sources

- [Yard and Garden Trimmings Drop-Off, City of Richmond](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/dropoff.htm) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Green Cart, City of Richmond](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/foodyardwaste/greencart.htm) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Recycling Depot, City of Richmond](https://www.richmond.ca/services/recycling-garbage/recyclingservices/recyclingdepot.htm) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Solid Waste and Recycling Regulation Bylaw 6803 (consolidation) (PDF)](https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/BL_6803_Consolidation_Including_ABL_10713_11242578158.pdf) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Richmond. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/yard-waste/_