Boston Leaf Pickup 2026: Remaining Yard Waste Weeks and Holiday Trash Delays

Featured image: Brown paper bags filled with fallen leaves, the kind of container Boston accepts for curbside yard waste. Photo: Wil540 art via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The photo was not taken in Boston.

Boston leaf pickup has six collection weeks left in 2026, starting Monday, Oct. 26 and ending Friday, Dec. 4. Two holidays, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, also shift regular trash and recycling in parts of the city. This guide uses the City of Boston Public Works Department’s 2026 yard waste calendar and holiday notices to explain which weeks count, how to set out leaves so crews take them, and what changes during holiday weeks.

Remaining Boston leaf and yard waste collection weeks

Curbside yard waste pickup only happens during scheduled weeks. The city’s calendar says crews do not collect leaves on unscheduled weeks. The remaining 2026 weeks are:

• Oct. 26 to Oct. 30
• Nov. 2 to Nov. 6
• Nov. 9 to Nov. 14
• Nov. 16 to Nov. 20
• Nov. 23 to Nov. 25, then Nov. 27 to Nov. 28 (no collection on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26)
• Nov. 30 to Dec. 4

Within each listed week, yard waste goes out on your normal trash day. Addresses with two trash days a week get yard waste picked up on the first one. The city’s free Trash Day app and its address search on boston.gov show each address’s schedule. The search works best with only the street number and name, without a unit number or ZIP code.

The program covers buildings with six or fewer units. Public Works says it does not collect yard waste from larger buildings, so residents there should ask their property manager.

How to set out leaves so they get picked up

• Containers: use large paper yard waste bags, or an open barrel labeled YARD WASTE with a city-issued sticker. Stickers can be requested from the city online or through 311.
• Not accepted: plastic bags, large contractor or landscape barrels, collapsible containers and city recycling bins. Yard waste set out in any of these will not be collected.
• Branches: no more than 3 feet long and 1 inch thick, tied with string. Bamboo is accepted if it is cut under 3 feet and tied.
• Timing: everything must be at the curb by 6 a.m. on collection day.
• Not yard waste: dirt, mulch and invasive plants. The city asks residents to put invasive plant material in regular trash.

The leaves do not go to a landfill. Public Works says it composts Boston’s leaf and yard waste and uses the result as soil in community gardens, parks and schools. Community gardens can request that compost free of charge.

Holiday trash and recycling changes in November

The city lists two holidays this month that affect pickup:

• Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11: city offices and BCYF community centers close.
• Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26: city offices, Boston Public Library branches and BCYF community centers close.

For both holidays, the city says trash and recycling pickups are delayed in some neighborhoods during the holiday week. Boston does not publish one citywide delay rule, so residents should check their own address in the Trash Day app, which also sends schedule-change alerts. On both days, parking meters are free with no time limit, and daytime street cleaning is canceled while overnight street cleaning continues as normal.

Regular trash rules that still apply

Containers may go to the curb no earlier than 5 p.m. the evening before pickup and no later than 6 a.m. on collection day. The city lists a $25 fine for early set-out. Trash must be in a black or gray barrel with a secure lid. Barrels larger than 32 gallons need a grab bar, and the city’s code violation list includes $25 fines for broken containers and $100 for an overfilled barrel.

Recycling goes loose in the blue cart. Cardboard that does not fit must be flattened, bundled with string, kept under 3 feet and placed beside the cart. Putting trash or yard waste in a city recycling cart can lead to a violation, and the cart may not be emptied. Our report on the Boston rodent action plan hearing explains why the city focuses on lids and set-out times.

Additional details

• After the leaf season: Christmas trees are collected on the normal trash day during the two weeks after Christmas, which the city calendar marks as Dec. 28, 2026, through Jan. 8, 2027. Trees with lights or ornaments, or in plastic bags, are not taken, and no other yard waste is collected during those weeks.
• Mattresses: they are not collected with regular trash and need a curbside appointment. Each address is limited to 10 items per calendar year, and cancellations are due by noon the day before.
• Drop-off events: leaf drop-off events are for Boston residents only and require a photo ID, utility bill or lease. The city’s events list showed none scheduled as of Oct. 22.
• Missed pickup: report it to Boston 311 at 617-635-4500, 311@boston.gov or the BOS:311 app.
• Winter prep: once leaf season ends, see our guide to Boston snow emergency parking rules.

Sources

• City of Boston Public Works: Leaf and Yard Waste Composting
• City of Boston: 2026 Leaf and Yard Waste Schedule (PDF)
• City of Boston 311: City of Boston Holidays
• City of Boston: Waste Collection Schedule and Search
• City of Boston Public Works: Trash
• City of Boston: Trash and Recycling (code violations)
• City of Boston Public Works: Recycling
• City of Boston Public Works: Mattress Recycling