If you're standing next to a pile of branches searching "where can you take yard waste near me Howard County, MD," the answer is almost always the same place: the Wood Waste Area at Alpha Ridge Landfill. What trips people up isn't finding the facility, it's the fee limit, the plastic-bag ban, and the vehicle rules that change your trip from free to not-free. Here's what you need to know before you load the truck.
The Short Answer: Alpha Ridge Landfill's Wood Waste Area
Howard County residents drop off yard trim at the Wood Waste Area, a dedicated section of Alpha Ridge Landfill separate from the main Residents' Convenience Center. Residents and contractors may drop off brush, yard trim, grass, leaves, barn cleanings and wood chips there, along with bamboo, branches, brush, grass, holiday trees, leaves, seed pods, and stumps or logs.
The facility is at the same site most people already call "the dump," but it's a separate line from household trash and recycling. The Wood Waste Area is located at 2350 Marriottsville Rd, Marriottsville, MD 21104.
Hours:
- Residential drop-off:
Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Commercial drop-off: Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Bring ID. Proof of Howard County residency is required before staff will wave you toward the pile. For addresses in Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, or anywhere else in the county, this is the facility worth saving in your GPS. See our Howard County service area page for how this fits into the rest of the county's waste rules.
What's Accepted, and What Gets Turned Away
Not every pile of "yard stuff" qualifies, and this is where most rejected loads happen.
Accepted at the Wood Waste Area:
- Branches and brush
- Grass clippings and leaves (loose, never bagged)
- Bamboo, holiday trees, and seed pods
- Stumps and logs
- Barn cleanings and wood chips
Unpainted and untreated lumber
Not accepted:
Pallets, railroad ties, treated wood or lumber, and wood waste in plastic bags or tarps are not accepted, and construction or demolition debris must go to the Transfer Station instead.
The plastic rule catches more people than anything else on this list. The Wood Waste Area is a plastic-free area, so take your plastic bags and tarps back with you. Our crews route past that scale house regularly while handling residential dumpster drop-offs across Howard County, and the two things that get loads flagged most often are bagged leaves and a few pieces of treated decking mixed into an otherwise clean brush pile.
If you're hauling material that came from a contractor job rather than your own yard, commercial customers need an active commercial landfill permit before the Wood Waste Area will accept the load.
2026 Fees for Yard Waste Drop-Off
Howard County's current landfill fee schedule took effect July 1, 2025, and runs through June 30, 2026, under Howard County Council Resolution No. 95-2025. Here's what that means for yard waste specifically:
| Load Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential clean wood/yard trim (up to 2-ton fiscal-year limit) |
No charge
| Residential clean wood/yard trim (over 2-ton limit) |
$40.00 per ton
| Commercial clean wood/yard trim (verified clean) |
$40.00 per ton
| Construction/demolition debris (not yard waste) |
$106.00 per ton
|
One detail most guides miss: starting next spring, paying by card gets slightly more expensive. Effective May 1, 2026, a 2.45% convenience fee applies to all credit and debit transactions at Alpha Ridge Landfill. If you're near the 2-ton threshold and planning to pay with a card, that fee stacks on top of any per-ton charge, so cash or a check can save you a few dollars on a larger load.
Buying compost or mulch while you're there also has a fixed price. HoCoGro Compost runs $24 per cubic yard, HoCoGro Mulch is $21 per cubic yard, and Blended Topsoil is $28 per cubic yard, with sales tax already included in those prices.
Out-of-county material isn't accepted at Alpha Ridge under any circumstances , so this fee schedule only applies to debris actually generated inside Howard County.
Curbside Pickup vs. Driving It Yourself
Before you load the truck, check whether curbside collection already covers you. The curbside yard trim collection season runs from April through mid-January.
Residents in the Feed the Green Bin collection area get year-round collection of both yard trim and food scraps.
Curbside has its own rules: yard trim goes out in reusable open-top containers (not County-issued recycling carts or bins) or in paper bags , and plastic bags are never accepted.
If your address falls outside the collection window, or you've got more material than curbside can handle, Howard County encourages residents to take yard trim directly to the Alpha Ridge Wood Waste Area for recycling when curbside collection isn't offered. Curbside also has stricter size limits than the drop-off site does. Items like logs over 4 inches in diameter or 4 feet in length, stumps, and bushes with root bases attached won't get picked up at the curb, even though the Wood Waste Area accepts stumps and logs directly.
Vehicle and Residency Rules Before You Load Up
A few rules change depending on what you drive and how much you're hauling.
- Trailers and box trucks:
Any resident using a dump truck, box truck, trailer, or rental vehicle is considered commercial and must cross the scales before disposing of material. That's different from a pickup bed, which can usually go through as a standard resident load.
- Residents' Convenience Center is stricter:
No trailers, box trucks, or rental trucks (U-Haul, Penske, etc.) may enter the Residents' Convenience Center at all — that rule applies to the trash and recycling side, not necessarily the Wood Waste Area, but it's worth confirming at the gate if you're renting a trailer specifically for a yard cleanup.
- ID required: Bring something with your current Howard County address on it.
Once you're loaded, Maryland law governs how you drive to the facility. A vehicle may not be driven on any highway unless it's constructed or loaded to prevent material from dropping, sifting, leaking, or otherwise escaping. A couple of ratchet straps or a mesh cargo net over a loose brush pile is usually enough to stay compliant; you can review the full requirement in the Maryland Transportation Code on securing loads.
Self-Haul vs. Hiring a Pickup Service
A weekend cleanup is usually worth the drive to Alpha Ridge. A multi-day landscaping project, storm cleanup, or a yard that's been neglected for a season is a different math problem.
Self-haul works best when:
- The load fits in a pickup bed or small trailer
- You're under the 2-ton free limit
- You have time during the 8 AM–4 PM window, Monday through Saturday
A pickup service makes more sense when:
- You're clearing a whole yard, storm debris, or an overgrown property
- You don't own a truck or trailer
- You'd rather not make three separate trips
If repeated dump runs start eating your weekends, a dumpster is often the simpler fix. Our residential dumpster rental service handles larger yard cleanups in one pickup instead of several car trips, and landscaping crews or property managers generating recurring debris tend to do better with commercial dumpster rental than scheduled scale-house visits. Both fall under our broader waste management services for Howard County properties. If you're also weighing a dumpster for a renovation alongside yard debris, our Howard County dumpster rental guide breaks down sizes and permit rules for 2026.
Not sure which option fits your project? Get a free estimate and we'll tell you honestly whether a landfill run or a rental makes more sense for your cleanup. We also serve Baltimore, Anne Arundel County, and Harford County if your project spans more than one jurisdiction. You can see examples of past cleanups and dumpster placements on our projects page, and more background on the company at cathyscans.com.
FAQ
Is the Howard County dump free for yard waste?
Mostly, yes. Residential clean wood and yard trim is free up to a 2-ton fiscal-year limit, then $40 per ton after that. Household trash and recycling have their own separate free allowances.
Can I bring a trailer or rental truck to Alpha Ridge Landfill?
Trailers, box trucks, and rental vehicles are treated as commercial and must cross the scales before disposing of material , even if the material itself is residential yard waste. Call ahead if you're unsure how that affects your specific vehicle.
Is there a separate landfill in Columbia, MD?
No. Columbia sits inside Howard County, and Columbia residents use the same Wood Waste Area at Alpha Ridge Landfill as the rest of the county. There's no dedicated Columbia-only disposal site.
What happens if curbside yard trim pickup isn't available at my address?
Howard County recommends taking yard trim directly to the Alpha Ridge Wood Waste Area when curbside collection isn't offered for your property. The drop-off site also accepts larger stumps and logs that curbside collection won't take.
Does Howard County's yard waste drop-off tie into a state recycling law?
Yes. The Maryland Recycling Act, passed in 1988, authorized the Maryland Department of the Environment to reduce solid waste disposal statewide through management, education, and regulation.
Counties with populations over 150,000, which includes Howard County, are required to recycle at least 35% of their waste stream. You can read the full breakdown on the Maryland Department of the Environment's recycling FAQ.
Will I be charged extra for paying by card at Alpha Ridge?
Starting May 1, 2026, a 2.45% convenience fee applies to all credit and debit transactions at Alpha Ridge Landfill. Paying with cash or check avoids that surcharge on any per-ton charges.
