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Yard& food waste at the Waste and Recovery Center

Put your yard waste to good use at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center (WARC). Much of the self-hauled yard waste brought to the WARC is ground into a mulch product on-site and made available to customers for free. Organic waste not used in the mulch program is trucked off-site and turned into compost or fuel.

See WARC rates, hours, and location.

View or download the Yard & Food Waste Acceptance List .

Items accepted as self-hauled yard & food waste

• Grass, leaves, brush prunings, and pine needles
• Fruit, flower, and vegetable garden scraps
• Weeds (No noxious or problem weeds—dispose of them as garbage. Certain noxious weeds qualify for free disposal. Please contact Thurston County Noxious Weeds for more information about noxious weeds.)
• Shrubs (no soil, rocks, or root balls)
• Beauty bark (no soil or rocks)
• Untreated lumber (no paint or stains, no size limit)
• Branches, limbs, and stumps less than 24 inches in diameter (no soil or rocks); call before bringing anything longer than 20 feet
• Christmas trees
• Food scraps (Monday through Friday only)

Items NOT accepted as self-hauled yard waste 

• No plastics of any kind, including garbage bags
• No rocks, soil, or sod
• No treated, stained, or painted wood
• No noxious or problem weeds—dispose of them as garbage. Certain noxious weeds qualify for free disposal. Please contact Thurston County Noxious Weeds for more information about noxious weeds.
• No stumps over 24 inches in diameter—view other organizations that accept stumps
• No liquids, fats, oils, or grease
• No shredded paper
• No compostable/biodegradable bags or serviceware

Note: Mixed loads of garbage and food/yard waste will be charged the garbage rate.

Interested in curbside organics collection? Learn more here.

Contact us

Call the Solid Waste Hotline at (360) 867-2491 or email ThurstonSolidWaste@co.thurston.wa.us.

Note: Although the WARC facilities are open on weekends and some holidays, staff are not available by phone or email on those days.