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Wood Disposal

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You can place residential wood debris curbside (maximum weight of 40 pounds) with your regular trash.

Wood debris includes:

  • Tree branches and limbs
  • Twigs 1/2 inch in diameter or larger
  • Firewood
  • Bushes and shrubs
  • Lumber and other debris from do-it-yourself home projects

To dispose of residential wood debris, you must:

  • Securely tie it in bales no more than two feet high and four feet long.
  • Use twine or rope to tie up the bundles of wood. Don't use nylon line, tape, or other binding material.
  • Remove any nails from the wood.
  • Place the bundles out curbside between 6 PM and midnight the day before your trash day.

Visit the Trash, Recycling, and Compost Collection Schedule page to look up your collection schedule.

The Department of Sanitation won’t pick up any yard waste produced by a landscaper, contractor, or other professional. If you hired someone to remove, rake, or pick up the waste, they must dispose of it. Learn more on the Landscaper Waste Requirements page.

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) changed the usual time for placing trash, recycling, and compost out at the curb for collection. The new set-out times will help keep city streets clean and reduce food sources for rats.

Under the new rules, residential buildings must: 

  • Place waste out after 6 PM in a secure container of 55 gallons or less with a secure lid, or
  • Place waste out after 8 PM if putting bags directly on the curb.

Bundled cardboard and bulk items can be placed out any time between 6 PM and midnight.

Appliances containing CFC must be placed out between 6 PM and midnight the evening before the scheduled CFC and Freon Removal appointment.

To ensure collection, all waste must be set out no later than midnight the night before your collection day.

The new set-out times went into effect on April 1, 2023.

Policy Feedback

You can submit feedback to DSNY about the new set-out time policy.

Wood debris from construction or home improvement projects is considered commercial waste unless you did the work yourself and did not hire anyone to help.

If you are doing a major construction or renovation project in your home and you hire someone to help, they are responsible for disposing of lumber and other construction material.

If you do repair work in your own home and do not hire anyone to help, you can put out up to six items (bags, bundles) out for collection with your regular trash.

The Department of Parks and Recreation will clean up all or part of a curbside tree that is damaged as a result of weather related activity or other causes.

When a forestry crew cannot immediately remove the debris resulting from their work, they will leave the brush or logs neatly piled near the curb. A crew will be assigned to the debris removal, and the matter will be resolved as soon as possible. The worksites are left as clean as possible, but the area may not always be completely free of small twigs, leaves, chippings, or sawdust.