Leaf Pickup and Burn Rules: Columbia to Fulton, MO

Columbia bans burning leaves and takes them in your roll cart. Boonville, Fulton, Fayette and New Franklin differ; the table lists each.

At a glance

Columbia

• Curbside: put leaves, grass and small twigs in your roll cart on your regular collection day. Bundled limbs and yard waste outside the cart are not collected.
• Drop-off: the Parkside Drive center (northwest Columbia, between Cosmo Park and Creasy Springs Road) and Capen Park (south Columbia, on Rock Quarry Road near Stadium Boulevard) are open dawn to dusk, seven days a week. They take leaves, grass clippings, brush and limbs up to 8 feet long and 2 feet across. Remove bags, nails, rope and other non-organic material. The landfill compost site takes leaves at no charge.
• Streets: don’t rake, wash or blow leaves into streets or storm drains.
• Burning: the Fire Department says there is no burning of leaves except those still attached to branches. Open burning needs a permit, with wind under 10 mph, the fire at least 50 feet from any structure, someone attending it, and the fire out by dusk. A permit is good only for the day it is issued. Small recreational fires need no permit; bonfires do.

Questions about collection: call the city at 573-874-2489.

Boonville

Residents can bring grass, leaves, limbs and other yard waste to the area behind the City Services Building, 1200 Locust St. Since July 6, 2025, yard waste must be in compostable paper bags; plastic bags are not picked up or accepted there. The transfer station at 690 Al Bersted Drive (660-672-4959) is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the first Saturday of each month, 7:30 a.m. to noon, except December through February. For yard waste area hours, call Public Works at 660-882-5257.

On burning, city code section 21-121 says solid waste may not be dumped on public property and that burning is allowed only in an approved incinerator. The code doesn’t mention leaves, so call City Hall at 660-882-2332 before lighting a pile. Read the code on our Boonville ordinances page.

Fulton

City code section 94-91 requires yard waste to be in paper bags, a separate reusable container or other bags the solid waste manager permits. Each container may weigh no more than 50 pounds. Sticks, limbs and brush go in four-foot bundles, also capped at 50 pounds. For fall cleanup dates, call City Hall at 573-592-3111.

Section 50-93 says open burning is prohibited inside city limits except as the article allows. Permits are required for all open burning that is not a recreational fire (section 50-95), and burning is barred during a burn ban or red flag warning. Recreational fires (section 50-94) must be no more than 3 feet across and 2 feet high, burn only clean, dry, natural wood, and be out by midnight. Call City Hall at 573-592-3111 before burning leaves. Read the sections on our Fulton ordinances page.

Fayette

For leaf pickup, call City Hall at 660-248-5246. City code section 230.250 says no one may burn litter in any street, gutter or other public place in the city; it doesn’t cover your own yard, so ask City Hall before burning. See the Fayette ordinances page.

New Franklin

The city’s page says there is no yard waste pickup; trash is collected Fridays. For burning, section 225.100 (Ordinance 818, May 13, 2024) lets the mayor declare a burn ban. During a ban, open or unsupervised burning is unlawful, and any burning must be supervised, confined to a pit or ring, and have water or dirt on hand. Bans are announced at city meetings and in the newspaper. Call City Hall at 660-848-2288 before burning leaves. See the New Franklin ordinances page.

Outside city limits

Ask your fire protection district before burning outside city limits. In Boone County, the Fire Protection District takes controlled-burn calls through Joint Communications at 573-442-6131.

Ordinance summaries above are summaries only; the adopted code governs. Code as of Nov. 1, 2026.

Related: Columbia adds a second glass recycling drop-off site and Rocheport seeks trash bids as county recycling stays shut. More local offices are on the government page.

Dates and hours change; call ahead.