Yard Waste
Yard Waste Removal in Detroit, MI
Grass, leaves, brush, branches, sod and storm limbs across Detroit and Wayne County. Michigan keeps yard clippings out of landfills, so vegetative material rides as its own clean load to a composting facility — never mixed with construction debris.
Start with the rule, because it decides everything else: Michigan bans yard clippings from landfill disposal under Part 115 of the state environmental code. Grass, leaves, brush and branches cannot be buried. They go to a composting or organics facility, and that only works if the load arrives clean. One bag of construction debris, one broken chair or a few chunks of concrete in with the brush and the whole container gets reclassified at the gate. So yard waste rides separately here. Always.
In Detroit that plays out on a scale most cities do not deal with. Overgrown vacant lots and Detroit Land Bank Authority side lots where nothing has been cut in three seasons. Tree removals off old silver maples and elms that have outgrown a bungalow lot. Storm limbs and whole crowns after straight-line winds come through, which happens more often than the forecast suggests. Then the ordinary spring and autumn cleanups, which in a neighbourhood of mature street trees means a genuinely large volume of leaves.
Weight is the part people miss. Brush and leaves are light and bulky, but sod, soil and green wood are not, and a root ball with dirt still in it is one of the heaviest things a homeowner ever tries to lift into a container. Wet material after a Michigan spring weighs considerably more than the same pile dry. We size for that. If the job also involves construction debris, book junk removal or a demolition debris container alongside it and keep two piles on the ground from the first hour.
Yard Waste Jobs Across Detroit
Overgrown Vacant Lots
A lot that has not been cut in three seasons is not a mowing job. Head-high weeds, volunteer trees, brambles and fly-dumped material all come out before anything resembling grass appears.
Land Bank Side Lots
Buyers of an adjacent side lot inherit years of growth. Clearing it is a brush-and-sod job with a separate pile for the tires and dumped debris that always turns up in the weeds.
Tree Removals
Trunk sections, limbs and brush from a silver maple or elm that has outgrown the lot. Green wood is heavy and awkward, so we size on weight and cut lengths to fit the box.
Storm And Straight-Line Wind Damage
After a summer blow the whole block has limbs down at once. We stage containers for multiple properties on one street and keep the loads clean so they can go straight to composting.
Autumn Leaf Cleanups
Mature street trees in Rosedale Park, Sherwood Forest and the North End drop an enormous volume. Leaves are light, so this is a pure volume job and a larger container makes sense.
Spring Cleanups And Hedge Work
Winter kill, dead perennials, overgrown hedges and the first heavy cut of the year. Straightforward material, but it is wet in March and April and that adds real weight to the load.
Sod, Soil And Landscape Removal
Stripped sod, old planting beds and excavated soil. Among the heaviest loads we carry, so it always goes in a small container and never rides with light brush.
Stumps And Root Balls
Ground stumps and pulled root balls carry soil and stone in the roots. Shake them out before loading, because the dirt is most of the weight and none of the value.
Sizing A Yard Waste Container
Brush and leaves are all volume and almost no weight, so a 20 yard is often the right call for an autumn cleanup or a full lot clearing — you will fill it before you get anywhere near a weight limit. A 15 yard handles a typical tree removal or a heavy spring cleanup on a standard Detroit lot. Once sod, soil, stumps or root balls are in the mix, drop straight to a 10 yard and plan on swaps, because dirt-laden material hits road weight fast. Tell us at booking whether there is soil in the load, because a container we sized for brush behaves completely differently once sod is going in. Cut branches to length as you go as well; a container packed with eight-foot limbs holds a fraction of what the same box holds when the brush is cut short.
10 Yard Dumpster
Concrete, brick, block, plaster and lath, tile and soil — weight fills it first.
View this size →15yd³15 Yard Dumpster
Single-room remodels, roof tear-offs to about 20 squares, garage cleanouts.
View this size →20yd³20 Yard Dumpster
Full basement clear-outs, kitchen guts, multi-room renovations, porch demo.
View this size →Keeping The Load Clean And The Ground Intact
Two rules keep a yard waste job simple. First, nothing but vegetative material goes in the container — no bags of household trash, no fence panels, no treated lumber, no concrete edging, no pots and no tires. Composting facilities reject contaminated loads, and one wrong item can send the whole container to a different and worse destination. Second, watch the ground. Yard work happens on turf, and turf in a Michigan spring is soft; we set on the driveway or a hard apron wherever possible, with protection boards under the rails. If a lot has no hard surface at all, tell us at booking and we will plan the approach. Our Wayne County disposal guide covers what goes where before the truck rolls.
Not sure this is the right service? Describe the job on the phone and we will point you at the right container even if it is a different service page. Call (586) 600-7076.
Get a flat quote
Two minutes on the phone gets you a size, a price and a delivery slot. No forms.
(586) 600-7076Recommended sizes
How it works
Yard Waste & Lot Clearing in four steps
- 1
Call us
Tell us the project, your address and when you want it. Two minutes on the phone and you have a flat price.
- 2
We deliver
Our driver walks the drop, lays protection boards and sets the container exactly where you want it.
- 3
You load it
Take your time within your rental window. Keep it level with the top rail and we handle the rest.
- 4
We haul it
Call or text when you are done. We pull it, sort what can be recovered and dispose of the rest properly.
Yard Waste & Lot Clearing FAQs
Why can I not just put the brush in with the rest of the debris?
Because Michigan will not let it be landfilled. Part 115 of the state environmental code bans yard clippings from landfill disposal, so grass, leaves, brush and branches have to travel as a clean load to a composting or organics facility. Mix them with construction debris and the whole container loses that route. EGLE administers the rule and it does get amended, so confirm the current requirements if you are working commercially.
Can stumps and root balls go in?
Usually yes, with two conditions. Shake or knock the soil and stone out of the roots first, because dirt is most of the weight and it is the part that puts a container over the limit. And tell us the size — a ground stump is easy, a five-foot root ball off a mature maple is a different conversation and may need to be split. Big stumps sometimes go to a separate grinding outlet rather than the composting load.
I bought a Land Bank side lot that has not been touched in years. Where do I start?
Walk it first and look for what is hiding in the growth — tires, dumped bags, old fencing, a buried slab. Those come out as a separate load; the vegetation rides clean. Then cut in stages rather than trying to clear it in one weekend, because head-high weeds and volunteer trees produce far more volume than a lawn ever does. The Detroit Land Bank Authority also publishes conditions that attach to side lot sales.
How quickly can you get a container out after a storm?
Same day or next day in most of Detroit, and after a straight-line wind event we run extended hours because the whole east or west side calls at once. Get on the list early. If limbs are on a house, a car or a service drop, deal with the utility and the insurer before anything is moved. Once the tree crew has cut and stacked, we set the container and the brush loads clean and fast.
Does sod and soil count as yard waste?
Not for disposal purposes, no. Grass clippings, leaves, brush and branches are compostable organics. Sod with soil attached, excavated dirt and fill are handled as heavy material and go to a different destination entirely, and they weigh several times what the same volume of brush does. If a landscape job produces both, we run two containers — a small one for the soil and sod, a larger one for the green waste. Wayne County lists local drop-off options.
More services
Other things we haul
Residential Dumpster Rental
Driveway and alley placement for basement, attic and garage cleanouts and remodels.
Learn more →Commercial Dumpster Rental
Scheduled and on-call containers for retail, restaurants, offices and property managers.
Learn more →Construction Dumpster Rental
Jobsite roll-offs and next-day swap-outs for builders, rehabbers and GCs.
Learn more →Roofing Dumpster Rental
Weight-rated cans sized by squares and layers, including multi-layer tear-offs.
Learn more →Roll-Off Dumpster Rental
10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 yard roll-offs delivered across Detroit and Wayne County.
Learn more →Same-Day Dumpster Rental
Call before the cut-off and we can usually get a container to you this afternoon.
Learn more →Junk Removal Dumpsters
Clear a full basement, attic, back-lot garage or storage unit on your own schedule.
Learn more →Estate Cleanout Dumpsters
Discreet, patient container service for families clearing a lifelong home.
Learn more →Demolition Debris Removal
Containers and fast swaps for gut-outs, porches, chimneys, garages and sheds.
Learn more →Concrete & Heavy Debris
Dedicated heavy cans for freeze-cracked flatwork, brick, block and plaster.
Learn more →Where we deliver
Yard Waste & Lot Clearing across Wayne County and metro Detroit
Same service, same flat rates, every town below. Pick yours for local placement and permit notes.
Talk to a real person
Need yard waste & lot clearing in Detroit?
Tell us what you are clearing out and we will tell you the right size and the flat price to put it in your driveway. No forms, no waiting on an email — just call and we will sort it out in a couple of minutes.
Serving Detroit, Wayne County and metro Detroit · Mon–Fri 6:30am–6pm, Sat 7am–3pm