Yard Waste Removal
Handis yard waste removal hauls the pile the curbside yard-waste cart cannot — the branch pile from a wind event, the bigleaf maple leaf drop after the first big November storm, the sod stripped for a new patio, the English ivy pulled off a fence line, the Himalayan blackberry brambles cleared for a deck install, the stump grindings the tree crew left behind. From $300 for a half-truck of leaves and small branches on a single pickup up to $1,200 for a full day of brambles, ivy, and clearing on a yard reset. Most yard waste sorts into the compost stream at the King County and Snohomish County transfer stations. The exception that matters in the Pacific Northwest is knotweed — Bohemian, giant, or Japanese — which Washington's noxious-weed rules treat differently from regular yard waste. We keep knotweed segregated in separate contractor bags so the transfer station routes it to the deep-landfill stream and not the compost stream. A knotweed clump composted regrows the patch; we will identify it on arrival and bag it correctly.
Service
What Does a Yard Waste Removal Visit Include?
Yard waste removal is the haul-and-dispose service for the pile that does not fit in the curbside yard-waste cart — the volume after a wind event, the leaf drop on a tree-heavy lot, the brambles or ivy clearing for a yard reset, the sod removed for a new patio. Handis runs half-truck pickups, full-truck pickups, half-day clearing jobs, and full-day yard resets, with the load sorted at the truck for the compost stream at the King County and Snohomish County transfer stations. From $300 for a half-truck pickup up to $1,200 for a full day of clearing.
What we haul
Bigleaf maple, oak, and fir leaf drop (the volume from October through early December on a tree-heavy lot is real), branch piles from a wind event or a tree-crew trimming, sod removed for a new patio or a re-grading, English ivy pulled off a fence line or out of a tree canopy, Himalayan blackberry brambles cleared for a deck install or a yard reset, stump grindings the tree crew left behind, holly clippings, laurel hedge trimmings, bamboo clumps from a divided patch, ornamental grass clumps, and the spring-cleanup volume from a long-neglected yard.
Knotweed — the noxious-weed case that matters in the PNW
Bohemian, giant, and Japanese knotweed are Class B and Class C noxious weeds on the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board list. Composting a knotweed clump regrows the patch — the rhizomes survive the compost cycle and reinfest the next site that uses the compost. Washington's transfer stations route knotweed to the deep-landfill stream, not the compost stream, when it is bagged and labeled correctly. We will identify knotweed on arrival, segregate it in its own black contractor bags labeled clearly, and route those bags separately to the landfill stream. The King County Noxious Weed Control Program has more on identification and reporting — if a patch is on the regulated list for your area, we will tell you.
What we cannot haul
Pesticides, herbicides (including the bottle the previous owner left in the garage), fluorescent grow-light tubes from a converted shed, soil tested positive for lead contamination, and asbestos-suspect materials accidentally surfaced during yard work (transite shed siding fragments, old roofing tabs) — these are hazardous-waste streams that route to a King County Hazardous Waste facility (Auburn, Factoria, Argo Recycling) and not to our truck. We name them on arrival, separate them on the floor, and tell you which facility takes each stream.
How Yard Waste Removal Works
Five sequential steps from the on-site walk through the stream-sorted disposal — the actual sequence we follow on every Handis yard waste removal job.
On-Site Walk and Noxious-Weed Identification
We walk the pile (or the yard area still to be cleared) with you first and identify the species — bigleaf maple leaves and branches, English ivy, Himalayan blackberry brambles, sod, ornamental clippings, and any knotweed (Bohemian, giant, or Japanese) or other regulated noxious weed. The noxious-weed pieces get a separate staging zone from the moment they are identified.
Cut, Pull, and Bundle the Pile
For a clearing job (ivy off a fence, brambles for a deck install, sod removal, a long-neglected yard reset) we cut, pull, and bundle on site. For a pile already cleared by you or a tree crew, we bundle for load. Branch bundles get twine-tied to the truck-bed length; loose leaves go into contractor bags; brambles and ivy bag separately to keep them from re-rooting in the compost stream.
Segregate Knotweed and Other Regulated Noxious Weeds
Knotweed (Bohemian, giant, Japanese) and other Class A / B / C noxious weeds on the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board list go into their own black contractor bags labeled clearly. These bags ride a separate route to the deep-landfill stream at the transfer station — not the compost stream — because composting knotweed regrows the patch.
Deliver Compost-Eligible Material to the Yard-Waste Stream
Bigleaf maple leaves, branches, ornamental clippings, and clean sod go to the yard-waste compost stream at the King County or Snohomish County transfer station. The Houghton, Bow Lake, and Factoria stations in King County all accept the yard-waste stream; Snohomish County North Recycling and Transfer accepts it. Tipping fees pass through at the yard-waste rate.
Disposal Manifest With Stream Breakdown
Job ends with a written disposal manifest — what stream each portion went to (compost versus deep-landfill for the noxious-weed bags), which transfer station took it, scale-ticket weights per stream, and any noxious-weed identification we made on arrival. The noxious-weed identification is yours for the record if you want to follow up on a control plan.
Yard Waste Pricing
Final pricing depends on volume, whether we are clearing on site or hauling a pre-staged pile, distance to the nearest licensed transfer station, the presence of regulated noxious weeds (which routes to deep-landfill at a higher tipping rate), and any stump grindings or sod (heavier per cubic yard). Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send a photo of the pile or the yard — we will quote the truckloads, the disposal, and the day.
Why Handis for Yard Waste in the PNW
Yard waste in the Pacific Northwest is its own category. The volume after a single November atmospheric river is twice what a national checklist expects. The knotweed problem the rest of the country has never heard of shows up on twenty percent of the lots in older Seattle neighborhoods. The blackberry brambles that a homeowner has been losing to for three years are not a weekend job; they are a full crew with the right cutting tools and a truck for the haul. We have run enough yard waste jobs in this region to identify the species on arrival and bag them correctly — the compost stream where it belongs, the deep-landfill stream where the noxious-weed rules send it.
Noxious-weed identification on arrival — knotweed especially
Bohemian, giant, and Japanese knotweed are Class B and Class C noxious weeds on the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board list. Composting a knotweed clump regrows the patch — the rhizomes survive the compost cycle and reinfest the next site that uses the compost. We identify knotweed on arrival, segregate it in its own black contractor bags, and route those bags separately to the deep-landfill stream at the transfer station. The King County Noxious Weed Control Program tracks these species; we can point you to their identification guide and control-plan resources if a patch is present on your lot.
Compost-stream disposal where eligible
Bigleaf maple leaves, branches, ornamental clippings, and clean sod go to the yard-waste compost stream at the King County and Snohomish County transfer stations. Yard-waste tipping rates are lower than construction-and-demolition or deep-landfill rates, which keeps the disposal portion of the invoice down. The sort happens at the truck — clean yard-waste in one zone, noxious-weed segregated, any non-yard-waste (broken pot, tarp scraps, twine) pulled out before the load lands at the scale.
Cut, pull, and bundle on site for clearing jobs
For ivy, brambles, and yard-reset jobs we do the clearing on site — cut at the root for ivy, hand-cut and bundled for brambles, sod cut into rolls for lift. The truck loads as the clearing goes, not at the end, so the driveway is not a multi-day staging zone. Most full-day yard resets fit two to three loads from a single Seattle-area lot.
Licensed Puget Sound transfer stations only
King County Bow Lake, Houghton, Factoria, Shoreline Recycling and Transfer, Algona — all accept the yard-waste compost stream. Snohomish County North Recycling and Transfer accepts it. Pierce County stations on the south end. Tipping fees pass through at the yard-waste stream rate (lower than C&D) with the dated scale ticket attached to the invoice. Knotweed bags ride a separate route to the deep-landfill stream at the same station — different scale, different rate.
Insured, background-checked, written manifest on every job
Every Handis crew member carries liability insurance and has cleared a background screening. Every job ends with a written disposal manifest — what stream each portion went to (compost versus deep-landfill for the noxious-weed bags), scale-ticket weights per stream, and any noxious-weed identification we made on arrival. Nothing leaves your driveway without a paper trail; if a knotweed patch was identified, you have the documentation for your records and for a follow-up control plan.
Estimate
Tell us the source of the yard waste (wind event, leaf drop, ivy pull, bramble clear, sod removal, full yard reset), the rough volume in truckloads or square feet, whether the pile is already cut and staged or whether we cut and clear on site, and whether you suspect any knotweed or other noxious weeds in the load. We send a clear estimate with the disposal streams broken out.
Customer Reviews
Recent yard waste removal reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
Bigleaf maple in the front yard dropped a full truck of leaves and a dozen branches in one November storm. The yard-waste cart held about a tenth of it. Handis sent a half-truck pickup the next day, bundled the branches, bagged the leaves, sorted out a few pieces of windfall pot fragments before they hit the load. Houghton compost stream, ticket on the invoice.
Three years of English ivy losing the back fence line in West Seattle. The crew pulled it off the cedar fence boards (saved the fence — I was expecting half the boards to come with it), cut at the root, and bagged. Half-day, full pickup. Fence looks like a fence again.
Putting in a deck along the side of the house — needed brambles cleared first. The crew brought hand tools and a brush cutter, worked through Himalayan blackberry that had grown ten feet up the laurel hedge, bagged and hauled in two loads. Identified a knotweed clump on the side I had not noticed and bagged it separately for deep-landfill. They told me about the King County Noxious Weed program for the patch they did not have time to fully address.
Removed sod for a new patio on a 200-square-foot section of the backyard. Two guys cut it into rolls, loaded the truck, hauled to the compost stream at Bow Lake. Came back the same day to pick up the small pile we had not finished cutting. Patio install crew started the next morning on clean dirt.
Bought a tear-down lot in Greenwood with a yard that had not been touched in fifteen years. Brambles, ivy, knotweed, branches, fir needles, three abandoned planters. Full day with two trucks. Knotweed bagged separately and routed correctly. The lot is workable for the demo crew next week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis yard waste removal — pricing, knotweed and noxious-weed handling, compost versus deep-landfill streams, ivy and bramble clearing, and sod and stump grindings.