Every Portland yard produces more debris than its garbage service can handle. One winter storm drops a tree’s worth of branches, one weekend of spring pruning buries the patio, and the November leaf piles speak for themselves. Here are your three realistic options for getting rid of yard debris in the Portland metro area, with honest numbers for each.
Option 1: Your green compost cart (best for small, steady amounts)
Most cities in the metro area include yard debris collection with curbside service, so grass clippings, leaves, and small branches can go in the green cart. It costs nothing extra, but the limits show up fast: the cart fills with one afternoon of raking, branches usually need to be cut down to fit, and dirt, sod, rocks, and stumps are not allowed at all.
Verdict: perfect for routine maintenance, useless for a real cleanup.
Option 2: Haul it yourself to a Metro transfer station
Metro’s two transfer stations (Metro Central in Northwest Portland and Metro South in Oregon City) accept yard debris. If you have a pickup, a tarp, and a free morning, this can work. We wrote a full breakdown of locations, fees, and wait times in our Portland dump guide.
Budget for the trip honestly: loading time, the drive, the line at the scale house, unloading by hand, and a muddy truck bed afterward. For one small load it can be worth it. For a whole season of overgrowth, it rarely is.
Option 3: Have us haul it (we do all the loading)
This is our yard debris clean-up service: a two-person crew shows up, loads everything – branches, leaves, blackberry brambles, old fencing, the pile behind the shed – sweeps up, and hauls it off. Our 2026 rates:
- Single pickup / minimum: $150
- Small load (5×10 trailer, up to 2,000 lbs): $240-$600
- Medium load (6×12 trailer, up to 5,000 lbs): $600-$960
- Large load (7×14 trailer, up to 7,000 lbs): $960-$1,200
Yard debris is bulky but light, so most cleanups land in the small-to-medium range. Full details are on our pricing page. One important note: dirt, sod, rock, and concrete count as heavy materials and get quoted by weight – if your project involves those, send us a photo first and we’ll give you a real number up front.
What counts as yard debris (and what doesn’t)
Goes in the yard debris load: branches and limbs, leaves, grass clippings, shrub and hedge trimmings, blackberry and ivy pullings, and general garden waste.
Doesn’t: dirt, sod, rocks, gravel, stumps with root balls, and treated or painted lumber. We still take all of that – it just runs through our construction waste service and prices differently.
Timing tips for Portland yards
- Fall: book leaf cleanups before the November rain turns the piles into a mat on your lawn.
- Winter: after a storm, downed branches are usually a quick pickup – same-day or next-day service is often available.
- Spring: prune-and-purge season is when trailers fill fastest, so a little lead time helps.
- Anytime: blackberries don’t care what month it is. Neither do we.
Need material brought in, not just hauled out?
The same trailers deliver: barkdust, gravel, decorative rock, soil, and more. Plenty of customers have fresh barkdust dropped off on the same visit that we haul debris away. Details in our material delivery guide.
Get a free estimate
Text a photo of your pile to (503) 455-7920 and we’ll text back a fast, free estimate. We serve the whole metro area, from Portland and Beaverton to Gresham and beyond.