Yard Waste

To help residents manage their yard waste, the City of Middleton provides separate collections of brush (April through October) and garden waste (April, October and November). In addition to City collections, residents may take brush and garden waste to the MRD compost site operated by Purple Cow Organics. View any of the links to the left for a complete description of each option.

Residents are also encouraged to view yard waste from a different perspective – one in which grass clippings and leaves can be mulched and/or composted to provide nutrients for their turf, gardens and trees, while minimizing the time and expense of collecting, hauling and processing these materials at a separate site. As an added bonus, using mulch right on your yard and garden will help retain soil moisture, provide natural fertilizer, reduce weed growth, moderate soil temperatures, reduce soil erosion, and save you the time otherwise spent bagging and raking.

Consider these tips:

1. Mow high – Set your mower blade at 3” to 3 ½” to develop deep roots, shade the soil, and suppress weeds. Mow grass about 2” at the end of the season to get ready for winter.
2. Mow frequently – To prevent stressing your grass, plan your mowing schedule to remove no more than about 1/3 of the grass leaf blade.
3. Keep your blade sharp – A dull blade will tear grass blades, increasing water loss and providing an opening for disease. If the tops of grass blades look brown and ragged, the mower blade needs to be sharpened.
4. Mow when grass is dry, and return the clippings to the lawn – clippings left in place can provide half of the nitrogen needed by your grass.

The University of Wisconsin–Extension in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has published several excellent resources including “Rethinking Yard Care”, “Managing Leaves and Yard Trimmings” and “Lawn Weed Control” to help get you started on making beneficial use of materials from the yard.