Yard Waste Removal in Tacoma, WA

What counts as yard waste in Tacoma

Yard waste is anything organic that came off your property: tree branches, hedge trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, sod, garden weeds, old flower-bed mulch. It also stretches to a few heavier categories that most Tacoma haulers still call "yard": stumps that have already been cut out of the ground, clean dirt piles from an excavation, gravel from a driveway pull-up, and landscaping rock. If it came from outside and it's making your yard look tired, we haul it.

Why yard debris is priced differently than household junk

Two things drive yard-waste pricing in Pierce County: volume and weight. Light material like brush and leaves fills a truck fast but weighs almost nothing, so we price by the cubic yard. Heavy material like sod, dirt, and gravel fills the truck slower but hits the scale hard — Pierce County transfer stations charge by the ton, so heavy loads carry a per-ton surcharge. Most Tacoma yards fall between $150 and $450 total. If your job is a mix (branches from a pruning plus a dirt pile from a garden bed), we quote it as one number instead of nickel-and-diming.

Common Tacoma yard waste jobs

Spring and fall are our busiest yard-waste seasons. In the North End and Proctor we haul a lot of pruning debris from mature landscaping — big rhododendrons, laurel hedges, and old cherry-tree limbs. In South Tacoma and Hilltop we see more full-yard cleanups after a rental turnover, plus gravel and old raised-bed lumber. In Northeast Tacoma and University Place, waterfront properties generate a steady stream of driftwood, blackberry, and blown-down branches after wind events. It all lands in the same truck.

Where Tacoma yard waste actually ends up

Clean green waste — branches, leaves, grass — goes to Pierce County yard-debris facilities where it's ground and composted. Clean dirt is diverted to fill projects when possible. Metals pulled out of your pile (old rebar, fencing, a busted mower deck we find under the leaves) go to metal recycling. We try to avoid sending anything reusable to landfill. See the full pricing math on our Tacoma cost guide, or read the transfer station fee guide if you're considering a DIY dump run instead. If your yard cleanup is tied to a bigger project like a garage cleanout or an estate cleanout, we bundle it into one visit.