The City of Kalamazoo offers a monthly brush collection program for City residents from May through October every year. You can find your pick up day on the Bulk Trash Collection Map or by searching for your street below (bulk Trash and brush are collected on the same day of the month, however bulk trash is collected only in the months of March, June, September, and December).
Please use the following guidelines when putting brush out for collection:
- Brush must be either bundled with twine (no metal), placed in open boxes or placed in biodegradable brown paper waste bags (brush in plastic bags will not be collected).
- Brush must be no larger than 4 feet long or 2 inches in diameter.
- Keep brush separate from bulk trash items.
- Brush mixed with grass clippings, leaves, or any other yard waste will NOT be accepted. For suggestions on how to manage other yard waste, please see below.
- Place items intended for collection at or near the curb lawn no earlier than 6:00 a.m. on the day before the scheduled pick up, and no later than 7:00 a.m. the day of the scheduled pick up.
Please note that leaves are not accepted as part of the monthly brush program. Leaf pickup is offered every fall between October and December, and leaves are also accepted as part of the special April Spring Clean Up. For questions about the brush collection program or to report a missed pick up, please call (269) 337-8215. You can also report missed pick ups and receive notices regarding this and other services by downloading the Recycle Coach app on your mobile device.
To report a missed brush collection, please call (269) 337-8215 or fill out our online form within two business days of the scheduled collection. A clause in the brush collection contract requires the contractor to collect all reported misses of eligible materials within 48 hours of notice by the City. Items that have been allowed to remain on the curb lawn for more than two days after the scheduled collection (and not reported as missed) is considered to be a public nuisance and could be subject to corrective action.
Collection Schedule
Use the map below to find your pickup day for bulk trash, brush, and Spring Clean-Up. Although they are on the same day, please note that brush collection occurs monthly between the months of May and October, and bulk trash collection occurs only in the months of March, June, September, and December.
Find your Collection Day
The City of Kalamazoo is happy to parter with Recycle Coach to offer customized collection information on our website, your mobile devices, or on the Recycle Coach website. The service provides customized collection schedules and service alerts, and can also be used to find out the best way to dispose of an item or report a missed collection. It's not just for recycling- you can use it to find your brush, bulk trash, spring clean-up, and leaf collection days too. The service is available for free by downloading the app on iTunes or Google Play.
April Spring Clean Up
In April, the City of Kalamazoo offers residents a "Spring Clean Up" on same day of the month that quarterly bulk trash collection would occur. As part of this special pick-up, residents will be permitted to place residual leaves from the fall, yard waste, brush (cut or broken branches), twigs and other trimmings no longer than four feet in length and two inches in diameter in biodegradable bags, open cardboard boxes or bundled with binder twine.
Loose piles of limbs, branches, brush and trimmings will not be collected. No grass clippings, dirt, soil, rocks, stones, bricks, concrete or construction or demolition debris of any type will be collected and may be subject to immediate corrective action and result in a fine if left out.
Regular brush program restrictions (noted above) resume in May.
Help keep our city clean
Bulk trash, garbage containers, recycling bins, recycling materials, or brush left or placed on the curb lawn outside of the designated time for collection could result in you being charged for the cost of its removal. Garbage containers (Herby Curby containers or recycling bins) may be placed at the curb "no earlier than 8:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled collection, and these containers must be removed from the curbside (or street side if there is no curb) not later than 11:00 p.m. of the collection day" (Kalamazoo City Code of Ordinances, 15A-2(a)).
Solid Waste (quarterly trash or seasonal brush) deposited for public collection "shall not be deposited earlier than 7:00 a.m. of the day preceding the day of regularly scheduled monthly collection for the district in which such solid waste is deposited." (Kalamazoo Code of Ordinances, 31-21). Any solid waste, "which is not, for any reason, collected by the city or its authorized contractor on the day on which collection is actually performed in the district in which the solid waste is deposited, shall be removed from public view within two(2) days following completion of the regularly scheduled monthly collection for that district." (Section 31-22).
Violations of the above types can result in immediate corrective action being taken by the City without prior notice, with the expense for the corrective action being billed to the property owner of record (Section 22-4(f)). To report curb lawn violations, you may call Inspection Services at 337-8221. Questions or concerns regarding the City's monthly trash and recycling programs should be directed to 337-8215.
Other ways to manage yard waste
A variety options are available for yard waste needs beyond what is offer by the City.
There are several private drop off sites in Kalamazoo that will accept yard waste including the Miller Road Transfer Station (2606 Miller Road, (269) 388-3346), Kalamazoo Landscape Supplies (5111 S 9th Street, (269) 375-8000) and Mulder's Landscape Supplies (3333 Ravine Road, (269) 345-6900).
Pickup service is also available from Best Way Disposal, (269) 388-3300, Republic Waste Services, (877) 268-3867, and Waste Management, (269) 382-1081.
Mulching is a useful way to use bagged grass clippings. Spreading a one-inch layer of grass clippings, wood chips, or other materials over exposed soil deters weed growth, feeds nutrients to the soil and retains even soil moisture. You can use your lawn mower to mulch grass clippings and leaves left from last fall. As golf courses have known for years, mulching grass clippings and leaves back into the lawn does not harm the quality of your turf.
Yard waste can also be composted. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provides a list of registered composting facilities here.
Natural landscaping is another alternative that can create beautiful and environmentally friendly yards. Natural Landscaping offers many potential environmental benefits, including reduced use of water, herbicides, fertilizers and energy (no need to use a lawn mower). Some information on natural landscaping is available in this pdf Guide to Natural Landscaping (841 KB) .