Avoid Fines This Spring: Can You Mix Yard Waste, Household Junk?

Avoid Fines This Spring: Can You Mix Yard Waste, Household Junk?

Spring cleaning season brings big piles and tight timelines—but don’t mix yard debris with household junk. Most cities and haulers treat yard trimmings as a separate organics stream, while furniture, plastics, scrap, and bagged trash are municipal solid waste. Combining them is a top reason for rejected pickups, contamination surcharges, and even municipal fines. A logistics-first plan separates streams, right-sizes containers, and routes to verified outlets so your material moves on schedule and counts toward diversion targets. Below, we lay out the rules, options, and playbooks to keep costs down and avoid rejections. Recycler Routing Guide applies this logistics-first approach to keep streams compliant and on schedule.