All yard waste (brush, leaves, and grass clippings) is banned from trash collection and cannot be placed in your trash cart or dumpsters. Brush collection is provided to residential single-family homes in Metro Nashville's Urban and General Services Districts. Residents have their brush and yard waste collected four times a year on a rotation schedule along 12 routes.
2024- 2025 Brush and Leaf Collection Schedule
Metro does not collect brush on private streets or in satellite/self incorporated cities such as Forrest Hills, Berry Hill, and Belle Meade. Residents of those areas should contact their city officials for the services available.
Christmas Tree Recycling Drop-Off Program
The Christmas Tree Recycling Drop-Off Program will run from December 26, 2024 through February 14, 2025 at selected Metro Parks locations. Trees must be cleaned of wooden stands, watering bowls, ornaments, lights, wire, string, and other decorations before drop-off. No artificial trees will be accepted. You can donate artificial trees or take them to any of our 4 Metro convenience centers for disposal. Please do not dump any other items at these drop-off locations.
Drop-Off Locations
- Cane Ridge Park
- Una Recreation Center
- Whitfield Park
- Cedar Hill Park
- Two Rivers Park
- Joelton Community Center
- Sevier Park
- Richland Park
- Elmington Park
- Edwin Warner Park
- Lakewood City Hall
- Frederick Douglass Park
- Both Living Earth locations at 1511 Elm Hill Pike and 6401 Centennial Blvd
The brush collection crew will also collect your Christmas Tree en route with your brush. There will be no special pick-ups for trees.
Collection Schedule and Reminders
You can use the Nashville Waste Wizard to find out when brush trucks are scheduled to be collecting in your area. The dates listed on the calendar are the start dates for each route. It normally takes one to three weeks to pick up all the brush in a route.
Look up your collection day and sign up for collection day reminders.
To find your brush collection start date using the Nashville Waste Wizard:
- Click on the calendar icon
- Type your address in the search bar and click search
- Scroll down to the calendar to view your upcoming brush collection start date. Brush collection will be marked with a yellow dot on the designated start date.
- If the brush date does not appear on the calendar or under ‘next event’, use the navigation arrows at the top left of the calendar to scroll to the next month. Brush is collected quarterly; therefore, a collection date will not appear every month.
Metro Brush and Yard Waste Collection Guidelines
When setting out your brush, leave enough room for the mechanical arm of the knuckle boom truck to operate. Stack your piles end to end or on top of one another. In general, height doesn’t matter, but all brush needs to be close enough to the curb or roadway for the truck to reach it. Only the driver travels with the truck; no other crew members are there to move piles or separate items that don't belong in a brush pile.
When setting out brush, leaves and grass clippings for collection, be sure to follow the guidelines below.
The Do's
- Set brush out before the scheduled start date in your area where your garbage is collected (at the curb or in the alley).
- Place leaves and grass clippings in biodegradable paper bags only.
- Only place limbs, branches and true yard waste by the curb for brush crews.
- Large branches can only be up to 4 inches in diameter and 12 feet long.
- Tree stumps can only be up to 8 inches in diameter and 12-18 feet. Stumps must be free of dirt and root balls.
The Don'ts
- Do not put leaves or grass clipping in plastic bags.
- Do not place brush, clippings and/or leaves in medians or where they can be washed into a storm sewer, catch basin or stream and clog up drainage systems.
- Do not blow or sweep leaves, grass clippings, and other yard debris onto City streets, sidewalks or bike lanes. This creates a safety hazard for roadway users and violates collection guidelines.
- Do not stack brush against mailboxes, trees, fences, utility poles, guardrails or other stationary objects.
- Do not put lumber, household trash and other types of debris in your brush pile.
- Do not include bamboo over 8 feet long.
- Do not include limbs more than 4 inches in diameter or longer than 12 feet.
- Do not include tree stumps more than 8 inches in diameter or longer than 12-18 feet. Stumps with dirt and root balls will not be collected.
- Brush piles too far from the curb or Metro right-of-way will not be collected.
Brush and yard waste (grass, leaves, etc.) from commercial tree and landscaping services must be disposed of by the company and not left for collection by Metro (Metro Code 10.20.085). If you hire someone to cut your brush, be sure that the cost of hauling the brush, yard waste and other debris away is included in the price and that it is hauled away by the company.
Need More Frequent Brush Disposal?
Davidson County residents can dispose of brush and other yard waste free of charge (trailers will be charged a fee) at the following locations:
- Living Earth: East Side
- Living Earth: West Side (Entrance by West Nashville Wrecker Service)
Click the links above to view the hours of operation for each Living Earth location. Hours vary throughout the year.