As summer yard cleanup fills curbside bags with grass clippings, leaves, branches, and garden debris, one Indiana city is warning homeowners not to treat that waste like regular household trash.
The City of Vincennes Street Department says it will no longer collect yard waste placed in bags marked with trash stickers, according to WTHI. A trash sticker may still work for regular garbage, but it will not make a bag of leaves or grass clippings eligible for normal trash collection.
WZDM reported that the change is effective now and was required by the city’s waste disposal provider. Bags containing leaves, grass clippings, branches, and other yard debris will not be collected with regular trash disposal.
The Vincennes rule is local, but the curbside mistake is easy for homeowners anywhere to make. Yard waste can have its own pickup schedule, drop-off site, bag rule, sticker rule, cart rule, branch limit, or composting process, so the bag that works for kitchen trash may not work after mowing, pruning, trimming, or clearing garden beds.
Stickered Trash Bags Will Not Work for Yard Waste
Vincennes uses a trash-sticker system for regular household trash. The city’s Streets and Sanitation page says official city trash collection stickers cost $1.25 each, regular trash must be at the curb by 7 a.m., and trash bags have a 35-pound weight limit.
That system no longer covers yard waste. Residents who put leaves, grass clippings, branches, or other outdoor debris into stickered bags should not expect those bags to leave with regular trash.
The mistake can happen fast after a weekend cleanup: bag the clippings, add a sticker, drag everything to the curb, and assume the city will collect it with the rest of the trash. Under the updated rule, the yard debris still has to be kept separate.
Yard Waste Has to Stay Separate From Household Trash
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WTHI reported that the city says yard waste and household trash must be handled separately. WZDM reported that the adjustment was required by Vincennes’ waste disposal provider.
That separation is the broader curbside issue homeowners should check before cleanup day. Leaves, grass, branches, hedge trimmings, and garden debris are not always handled like packaging, kitchen trash, or other household garbage.
The EPA says composting reduces waste and recycles organic materials into a valuable soil amendment. Vincennes residents still need to follow the city’s specific process, but the reason for separating yard debris is familiar in many local systems: organic material often has a different destination than regular trash.
Pickup and Drop-Off Options Are Still Available
The rule change does not mean Vincennes is ending yard waste service. WTHI reported that residents can schedule yard waste pickup by calling the Vincennes Street Department at 812-885-2520.
The city also lists a collection site on Old Terre Haute Road where residents can dump their own yard debris, leaves, and limbs during posted hours. The city says residents must empty their containers at the site and take those containers with them.
Knox County Recycling and Solid Waste also lists the Vincennes Street Department/Sanitation number, 812-885-2520, for curbside recycling pickup, trash pickup, and the city compost site.
Sort the Bags Before Cleanup Day
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The new Vincennes rule creates a simple sorting check before trash day: household trash belongs in the regular stickered-trash stream, while yard debris has to go through the yard-waste process.
That check matters most after mowing, trimming hedges, pruning branches, clearing leaves, or cleaning garden beds. A mixed bag may be convenient to carry, but yard material cannot be treated as regular trash just because a sticker is attached.
Before putting bags out, residents should separate leaves, grass clippings, branches, and garden debris from household trash and call the Street Department if they are not sure whether pickup, drop-off, or another setout method applies.
For homeowners outside Vincennes, the same kind of check can prevent a missed pickup. Yard waste rules often turn on small details: plastic bags, paper bags, loose limbs, bundled branches, cart limits, weight limits, stickers, pickup scheduling, or whether a city wants the material taken to a compost site instead of the regular trash route.