Guide

Yard waste and leaf pickup rules, town by town

Barrington takes yard waste April to mid-December in brown paper bags or barrels; East Providence April 1 to December 15 in labeled bags or barrels; Newport every other week May to November, no plastic; Bristol curbside spring to fall; Fall River by cart or Lewiston Street drop-off.

Updated November 11, 2026

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Homeowners in a yard at the edge of the woods

Every town does it differently. Here's what each one publishes, with the source.

What does each town allow?

Town	Season	Containers	Notes
Bristol	Spring, summer, fall	Ask Sewer Dept.	Transfer station free
Barrington	April to mid-December	Brown paper bags or barrels	Curb by 7 a.m.; brush chipping in fall
East Providence	April 1 to Dec. 15	Paper bags or barrels with yard debris label	Labels at City Hall or Public Works
Newport	May to November, every other week	Paper bags, bundles, 32-gal cans	No plastic; 50 lb max; branches under 4 in. x 3 ft
Fall River, MA	-	Yard waste carts	Lewiston Street drop-off

Schedules change every year; check your town's calendar. A cleanup crew can bag to your town's rules or haul it away.

Questions people ask

Can I use plastic bags for leaves?

Not in Newport, and Barrington and East Providence specify paper bags or barrels.

What do I do after pickup ends?

Most towns take yard waste at a drop-off; or have the crew haul it.

Does the town take brush?

Barrington runs a fall brush chipping program; Newport takes branches under four inches across and three feet long.

Fertilizer rules: RI vs MA: Massachusetts 330 CMR 31.00 limits lawn phosphorus to soil-test need or seeding, bans feeding frozen or dormant turf and sets setbacks from water. Rhode Island has no comparable statewide lawn rule. What it means near Bristol.
Lawn calendar: When to clean up, mow, mulch, seed, feed and rake in Bristol and the East Bay: spring cleanup, weekly mowing, late-summer seeding (Aug 15 to Sep 15 per URI), feeding by mid-September, fall cleanup before pickup ends.
Watering and bans: How to water East Bay lawns, what the 2019 Bristol County Water Authority ban looked like, and how mulch, mowing height and timing keep a yard alive when watering is restricted.
Weekly lawn mowing: Mowed at the right height, trimmed, edged and blown off, every week or every other week, same day each week.
Spring and fall cleanups: Leaves and sticks off the lawn and out of the beds, beds cut back, first or last mow, and bagged or hauled the way your town wants.

Sources

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