Yard Waste

Acceptable items

  • Leaves
  • Grass clippings and weeds
  • Plants and flowers
  • Sticks and branches (3’x3’ bundles or smaller)
  • Mulch (less than 1/4 cart or 1/2 yard waste bag)

Unacceptable items

  • Dirt
  • Whole trees and stumps
  • Food waste
  • Animal excrement
  • Trash

Fast facts

Fall into good yard waste habits

  • Five trash bags of leaves is equivalent to one pound of phosphorus, which can create up to 1,000 pound of algae.
  • Clippings left on your lawn provide up to 50% of the nitrogen your lawn needs, so you don't have to apply as much fertilizer.
  • Sweep up clippings, leaves and weeds from curbs and driveways. When washed into waterways, yard waste provide nitrogen and nutrients that can lead to algae bloom and green water.
  • Stormwater runoff drains directly into our neighboring waterways.

Options

Residents have three options to dispose of yard waste:

  1. Sign up for yearly carted curbside yard waste service
  2. Call for on-call service
  3. Drop off at the Northfield Compost Site

Curbside yard waste service

You will get a 96-gallon container for yard waste. You may also place up to 10 additional compostable bags for excess yard waste next to your bin.

Service runs from spring to fall, weather permitting.

Service begins Monday, April 18, 2022 and ends November 14, 2022.

  1. Start or change service

    Contact the city to set up service and order your carts. Charges for garbage and yard waste collection services appear on monthly utility bills. 

    Fill out a Start or Change Service Request Form

  1. Cart sizes available

    Northfield residents have a choice for the size of the cart that best suit their disposal needs.

    Cart options20 gallon35 gallon64 gallon96 gallon
    Image20 gallon or 35 gallon cart20 gallon or 35 gallon cart64 gallon cart96 gallon cart
    Width19''19''24''26''
    Depth22.7''23.75''27''34.5''
    Height32.5''37.5''41.5''46''
    Service availableGarbageGarbageGarbage, recyclingGarbage, recycling, yard waste

Starting in 2022, only 96 gallons containers are available for yard waste. Previously, 64 and 96 gallons were available. Anyone who has a 64 gallon contain will keep theirs but if you need to exchanged it, you will then be getting a 96 gallon container.

You may also place up to 10 additional compostable bags for excess yard waste next to your bin.

Billing rate

  1. $90.00 seasonal service May to November. Service will be billed $7.50 per month from January to December. If residents signs up in May, their first bill will include January to April billing.

Time of pickup

Place your cart out on your curb before 7 a.m. on Mondays. Do not wait for the truck to pass by.

  1. Placement of carts

    Place your carts (garbage, recycling and yard waste) on opposite sides of your driveway on the curb. Do no place carts in the street, or near mailboxes, trees, basketball hoops or other obstacles.

  1. Missed pickup

    The garbage, recycling and yard waste services are contracted through Dick's Sanitation, Inc. (DSI). Please contact them for a missed pickup and general service questions.

    Dick's Sanitation, Inc. (DSI)
    952-469-2239

  1. Christmas trees

    DSI collects real Christmas trees during the first two Mondays of January. They collect only one tree per household. Place the real tree on the curb near your garbage cart. Please call ahead for pickup to 952-469-2239.

  1. Holiday schedule for pickup

    DSI observes the following holidays:

    • New Year's Day
    • Memorial Day
    • Independence Day
    • Labor Day
    • Thanksgiving Day
    • Christmas Day

    Service will be delayed one day starting on the holiday of that week.

    View DSI holiday schedule

On-call curbside service

Purchase yard waste stickers at Family Fare for $3 per bag and attach them to compostable yard bags. Pickup is on Monday. Contact DSI to schedule your pickup for the next Monday.

Availability

This services is available in the spring and fall. Spring on-call service is available from April to May. Fall on-call services is available October 1 to November 15.

Contact

Dick's Sanitation, Inc. (DSI)
952-469-2239

Yard waste drop-off facility

Northfield residents may take all yard waste, including brush, branches and shrubbery to the City of Northfield compost site during scheduled hours. Limb size must be less than six inches in circumference. Finished compost is also available for pickup at the site.

Compost Site

  1. Address

    Northfield Compost Site
    1801 Armstrong Road
    Northfield, MN 55057

    Hours

    Open April 7 to November 19, 2023

    • Monday, closed
    • Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. (or sunset)
    • Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or sunset)
    • Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (or sunset)
    • Holidays, closed

    If sunset occurs before the closing time, the site will close due to darkness. The compost site does not have lights.

    Features

    Follow the signs or ask the attendant where to dump items. There are separate areas for branches, yard waste, perennial flowers and organic recycling (food waste).

    Dump organics recycling in the marked container.

    Topsoil compost is available free to the public for use in your yard. You are responsible for loading and hauling.

    Railroad

    A railroad crosses in front of the entrance to the Compost Site. A train may periodically block the entrance and exit. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    CP Rail 1-800-716-9132

Rice County Landfill

The Rice County solid waste landfill site also accepts yard waste.

Rice County Landfill
3800 East 145th Street
Dundas, MN 55019
507-332-6833