Yard Waste and Brush

Place yard waste at the curb (not in the street) the night before or by 5 am on your collection day to ensure pickup. The city collects this yard waste and processes it into compost, free to Clay County residents. For more information or to check the availability of finished compost, please call 218.979.9516.

Residents must use reusable containers or compostable/paper bags for curbside yard waste collection. Each container or bag must not exceed 30 pounds or 32 gallons, but there is no limit on the total amount that may be picked up.

Acceptable options for yard waste include:  

• Reusable cans (up to 32 gallons in size)
• Paper lawn bags
• Compostable lawn bags that are BPI-Certified and ASTM D6400 Standard compliant with the stamp to the right on them.
• Dropping off lawn waste at the City compost site, or dumpsters at Woodlawn Point (418 Elm St), the Public Works Shop (700 15 Ave N), or the Resource Recovery Center (3322 15 Ave N). 

BPI-Certified compostable or paper lawn bags can be purchased at Menards, Ace Hardware, or on online at various retailers. Compostable bags are usually green in color.

Reasons for using BPI-Certified compostable or paper lawn bags include:

• Alleviating the litter and costs of disposing plastic bags.
• Minimizing maintenance and down time of the yard waste processing equipment.
• Eliminating contamination of the finished compost.

The ultimate goal is to make our composting service more effective and sustainable.

If you have questions, please contact the Sanitation Department at 218.299.5422, option 1. 

Our Forestry chipping machines have limitations on what can be safely run through them. We are also time-limited for each house in order to ensure everyone who needs service on the route can get it that day. Here are some specifications and recommendations that will help us work as effectively as possible.

• Branches must be 8 inches or smaller in diameter.
• To help us work quickly, please make the pile in such a way that the base of the limbs point in the same direction. This will make it easier to grab branches and feed them into the chipper.
  • Piles with branches facing different directions take extra time because they need to be pulled apart and then fed into the machine.
• Branches must be placed loose on the boulevard, not in alleys.
• Branches should not be bundled.
• Do not put branches in bags, garbage cans, yard waste containers/bags, wheelbarrows, or boxes.
• Branches cannot be mixed with the following:
  • Root balls
  • Compost, leaves, trash, dirt, etc.
  • Lumber, plastic, garbage, and construction and demolition material

If a resident does not want to wait until their recycling day for brush chipping, wood debris can be hauled to the City’s Compost site. Branches larger than 8 inches in diameter can also be dropped off at the Compost Site (for a fee).

Residents can contact the Clay County Resource Recovery Center at 218.299.5016 for details on how to dispose of the branches at that location as well.

If part of a pile is left after the brush chipping day, residents can leave it for their next recycling day, or they can haul it to the compost site.

Location:

• Compost Site:
  • 1800 Hwy 75 N (Just north of Centennial Park Baseball Fields on Hwy 75)
• Compost Hours:
  • Open Seasonally from April to November
  • Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:15 pm
  • Saturday 8:00 am to 11:45 am

(Please do not drop off tree branches at our recycling drop-off locations. Those locations are for grass clippings and leaves only.)

We proudly serve 1,050 households daily. Roughly 2,200 yards of wood chips are generated each chipping season; this is about 715 tons per summer!

Did you know we give away the wood chips from our curbside brush pickup service? Take as much as you need from the Compost Site. Call the Compost Site for availability prior to arrival.