Branch and yard waste pickup in Des Plaines
An unbundled branch collection program covers all dwellings in Des Plaines under City Code 5-2-9(B); only branches from trees and bushes up to 6 inches in diameter at the cut end are eligible for pickup.1 The city's equipment cannot mulch logs larger than six inches in diameter, wooden fence pieces, old firewood logs, branches with nails or spikes or hooks, construction wood or other materials, paneling, wooden doors, and tree and bush stumps; those items remain on the parkway for the resident to dispose of.1
For yard waste in the city's residential collection program, City Code 5-2-9(A) says it goes in a 32-gallon or smaller paper biodegradable bag, or in a metal or rigid plastic container marked with a 2-foot-high red "X".1 Branches and brush not in an approved bag or container must be cut and tied in bundles no more than 4 feet long and 2 feet in diameter, and each bundle must not block any public way or weigh more than 50 pounds.1
Related pages:
- Shed removal
- Yard waste disposal
- Yard waste removal
Bulk items and the weekly cart
The City of Des Plaines says one bulk item a week may be set out with the weekly garbage cart.2
Related pages:
Des Plaines housing figures
| Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|
| 23,856 | Total housing units |
| 1966 | Median year built |
| About 23 percent | Share built in the 1960s, 5,370 of 23,856, the biggest decade |
| About 36 percent | Share built before 1960 |
| About 59 percent | Single family detached homes |
| About 8 percent | Single family attached, including townhomes |
| About 28 percent | In buildings with five or more units |
| About 78 percent | Owner occupied, of occupied homes |
The median year built for Des Plaines housing is 1966, and the 1960s are the city's biggest building decade: 5,370 of its 23,856 housing units date to 1960 through 1969, about 23 percent of the total.3 About 36 percent of Des Plaines homes were built before 1960.3
About 59 percent of Des Plaines' housing units are single family detached homes and about 8 percent are single family attached homes, including townhomes; about 28 percent are in buildings that have five or more units.4 Owner-occupied homes account for about 78 percent of the city's occupied housing.4
Dumping rules in Des Plaines
Depositing, placing or dumping any refuse, garbage, yard waste, concrete or other construction material on any sidewalk, street, alley, parkway, park, school, private property, public place or city right of way is unlawful and a nuisance in Des Plaines under City Code 5-2-11(A), sign or no sign.1
Burning or burying garbage or refuse within the city is also unlawful under City Code 5-2-11(B).1
Scavenger licensing in Des Plaines
Private waste collection firms wanting a scavenger license in Des Plaines must comply with all applicable federal, state, county and local laws; conditions for receiving, renewing and maintaining that license include obtaining all required permits, submitting a city certification form and allowing inspections of the proposed processing facility, per City Code 5-2-12(B)(3).1
Recyclable materials placed for collection at any residential dwelling participating in the city's recycling program may only be collected by the city's waste collection franchisee; the code makes it unlawful for any other person to collect, obtain or pick them up.1
We do not haul paint, chemicals, fuel, batteries or asbestos.