Omaha’s six-week fall yard waste collection runs from Oct. 26 through Dec. 4, 2026. Paper yard waste bags will be picked up without prepaid stickers, but bundles of branches still require them.
Published Oct. 19, 2026.
By Hola Nebraska
OMAHA, Nebraska — The City of Omaha will begin its fall yard waste collection season on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, allowing households served by the city’s waste collection program to set out paper bags of leaves, grass clippings and other accepted yard waste without purchasing collection stickers.
The six-week collection period ends Friday, Dec. 4. Yard waste will be picked up separately on each household’s regular collection day and taken to the Oma-Gro composting facility.
There is no limit on the number of properly prepared paper yard waste bags collected during this period, but each bag must weigh 40 pounds or less. The seasonal exemption applies to paper bags only. Bundles of branches and brush still need a prepaid yard waste sticker.
This is a City of Omaha residential collection service. An Omaha mailing address alone does not establish eligibility for municipal pickup; properties outside the city limits may have different waste collection arrangements.
Paper yard waste bags will be collected without stickers until Dec. 4
Under Omaha’s regular collection rules, paper yard waste bags placed outside the household’s black-lid garbage cart require prepaid stickers for pickup. That requirement is temporarily waived for accepted paper bags during the spring and fall collection seasons.
The City of Omaha’s 2026 yard waste collection schedule establishes the fall collection dates as Oct. 26 through Dec. 4.
Only special paper yard waste bags are accepted for separate seasonal collection. Plastic bags, cardboard boxes and ordinary garbage cans cannot substitute for the required paper bags.
Each bag may hold no more than 40 pounds. The city does not set a numerical limit on the number of qualifying paper bags collected during the six-week period.
Leaves, grass clippings and garden waste are accepted
Omaha’s seasonal collection accepts common yard waste that has been placed in the required paper bags.
Accepted materials include:
- Fallen leaves.
- Grass clippings.
- Garden waste, including fallen apples and rotted or excess fruits and vegetables.
The city does not accept every material found during yard cleanup. Mixing trash or other prohibited items into a paper yard waste bag can prevent proper collection and composting.
Materials excluded from yard waste collection include:
- Plastic bags placed outside the garbage cart.
- Household trash, litter and garbage.
- Cardboard boxes filled with yard waste.
- Dirt, sod, rocks and street-sweeping sand.
- Sawdust, lumber and treated wood.
- Pet waste and cat litter.
- Branches larger than 2 inches in diameter or longer than 4 feet.
- Loose, untied branches and brush.
Bundles of branches still require a $2.61 sticker
Branches and brush follow different rules from bagged leaves and grass clippings. Even during the no-sticker fall collection period, each bundle must have a prepaid yard waste sticker.
To qualify for collection, branches must be no more than 2 inches in diameter and 4 feet long. Bundles must be tied securely with string or natural twine and weigh no more than 40 pounds each.
Plastic or nylon twine, wire and rope are not accepted for securing brush bundles.
Yard waste stickers cost $2.61 each in 2026. The city’s current collection pricing identifies 2026 stickers as blue and 2025 stickers as red. Both years’ stickers remain valid during 2026 because each sticker is good for its year of issue and the following year.
Outside the seasonal collection period, every paper yard waste bag placed outside the garbage cart also requires its own sticker.
Set out yard waste on the regular collection day, before 6 a.m.
The fall program does not create a separate weekly pickup day for each neighborhood. Paper yard waste bags are collected on the household’s normal waste collection day.
Omaha’s collection rules call for waste carts to be placed at the designated curbside collection point before 6 a.m. Paper yard waste bags should be set out separately from the black-lid garbage cart for seasonal collection.
Waste and recycling carts must have at least three feet of clearance between them and nearby obstacles so collection trucks can reach them. The city’s Wasteline collection calendar provides address-specific pickup information and service alerts.
Thanksgiving will delay Thursday and Friday pickups
The six-week fall collection period includes Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, when Omaha’s waste collection contractor will not operate on its regular schedule.
During Thanksgiving week:
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Collections normally scheduled for Thursday move to Friday, Nov. 27.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Collections normally scheduled for Friday move to Saturday, Nov. 28.
The city’s holiday collection schedule applies the one-day delay to affected routes. Monday through Wednesday collections are not shifted by Thanksgiving.
The black-lid garbage cart accepts yard waste year-round
Omaha households can place loose yard waste inside the black-lid garbage cart throughout the year without buying a yard waste sticker. However, material collected inside that cart goes through the regular waste stream rather than the separate composting collection.
During the fall program, yard waste collected separately in approved paper bags is taken to Oma-Gro for composting.
The Oma-Gro facility also accepts qualifying yard waste delivered directly by individuals at no charge. Its receiving location is 6502 S. 60th St., Omaha. Visitors must stop at the office for permission before unloading, and the facility operates under its own hours and material restrictions.
The city’s waste collection helpline is 402-444-5238 for collection questions and missed pickups.
Omaha’s sticker-free paper bag collection ends Dec. 4, 2026. After that date, paper yard waste bags left outside the garbage cart will again require prepaid stickers, while yard waste placed inside the black-lid cart can continue to be collected through the regular service.
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