Free Green-Waste Disposal and Vegetation-Clearing in Boulder Creek

The short version

• Free chipping (spring). The Resource Conservation District chips defensible-space cuttings for free, right at your property. Registration typically runs April 1 to 30, with chipping in early May.
• Free disposal days (2026). The county runs them the last Saturday of the month at the Ben Lomond Transfer Station, 7:30am to 3:30pm, through September. Two-ton max per load, and bring ID showing you live here.
• Everyday trimmings. Your GreenWaste Recovery green-waste cart takes yard waste on your normal pickup schedule.
• Confirm before you cut. Dates and rules shift year to year, so check the current window before you start a big job.

Cut a season's worth of brush from around a Boulder Creek house and you end up with a pile that won't fit in anything you own. You don't have to pay to get rid of it. Between the Resource Conservation District's no-cost chipping program, periodic free green-waste disposal days for San Lorenzo Valley residents, and regular curbside pickup, there are several ways to move those cuttings without a dump fee. Most of these are tied to reducing wildfire fuel around homes, so the same work that clears your yard helps protect it. Here's how each one works, and how to plan for it.

Free chipping from the Resource Conservation District

The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County runs a community chipping program that will chip your defensible-space cuttings for free, right at your property. It's built specifically for wildfire fuel reduction, which means the material has to come from the defensible-space zone: within 100 feet of an occupied structure, or within 15 feet on either side of a private road.

The details that trip people up:

• Timing. Registration typically runs April 1 to 30, with chipping in early May. It's a spring program, so plan your big cutting around it.
• How much. Up to about three piles per household.
• How to stack. Branches up to roughly 8 inches in diameter and 10 feet long, hand-stacked with the cut ends facing the same direction toward the road, and on the uphill side of sloped roads.

Dates and rules shift year to year. Confirm the current window and requirements on the RCD chipping page before you start cutting.

Free green-waste disposal days for the valley

Separately, the county has run free green-waste disposal days for residents of the unincorporated San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley, a cooperative effort supporting vegetation management and defensible space in high fire-risk areas, coordinated with the District 5 County Supervisor's office.

For 2026 the county is running it on the last Saturday of the month at the Ben Lomond Transfer Station, 7:30am to 3:30pm, through September, with a two-ton maximum per load, no dump trucks or drop-boxes, and proof of residency for self-haulers. Dates and rules change year to year, so check the county's green waste disposal program page before you load up, and bring ID showing you live here.

Everyday trimmings: your curbside cart

For the everyday trimmings, GreenWaste Recovery is the county's hauler, and your green-waste cart takes yard waste on your normal pickup schedule. For bigger loads or specifics on what's accepted, check GreenWaste's Santa Cruz County page.

Why clearing brush matters here

This is more than tidiness. Clearing brush, limbing up trees, and hauling out dead material is the heart of defensible space, and these free programs exist largely to make that work easier and cheaper so more homes get it done. If you're clearing for fire season, pair this with our late-summer wildfire checklist. And before winter, moving cut vegetation also keeps it from washing into culverts and drainage during storms.

Frequently asked questions

How can I get rid of yard waste for free in Boulder Creek?

Three main ways: the Resource Conservation District's no-cost chipping program (spring, for defensible-space material), periodic free green-waste disposal days for San Lorenzo Valley residents, and your regular curbside green-waste cart through GreenWaste Recovery.

When is the chipping program?

Registration typically runs April 1 to 30 with chipping in early May, but confirm the current dates on the RCD chipping page, since they change year to year.

What material qualifies for free chipping?

Cuttings from the defensible-space zone: within 100 feet of an occupied structure or within 15 feet of a private road, branches up to about 8 inches in diameter and 10 feet long, hand-stacked toward the road.

Do I have to pay to use the green-waste disposal days?

The District 5 disposal days for valley residents are free within limits (a two-ton maximum per load and proof of residency). For 2026 they run the last Saturday of the month at the Ben Lomond Transfer Station through September; confirm on the county's program page.

Last reviewed July 20, 2026. Program details here link to the Resource Conservation District, Santa Cruz County Public Works, and the District 5 County Supervisor's office. Program dates and rules change; confirm with the RCD, the county, and District 5 before you haul. For the rest of what a mountain property needs before fire season, see our late-summer wildfire checklist and the Residents guide for county contacts in one place. Something out of date here? Tell us.