Isle La Plume Brush & Yard Waste Site

2000 Marco Drive
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-789-7508

**You must be a City of La Crosse Resident to use the site.
**We do not accept DIRT, SOD, MULCH, BRICKS, CARPET, or ANY ITEMS not listed below or in our Acceptable Materials List. 

The site opening date is scheduled for March 25th at 10 AM and it will close for the season on November 26, 2024, at end of day. Once the site closes for the season, yard waste and brush can only be dropped off at the County Landfill and food waste can be dropped at our office; see below for more information.

New Site Hours Effective: May 5th, 2023

Scheduled Site Closures:

On occasion, due to weather related issues or staffing shortages, the site will be closed with little to no advanced notice. A sign will be posted at the main gate and if possible, a public service announcement will be sent to the media outlets, and added to our website news feed, along with added to our Recycling & Street Department Facebook pages.

You must be a City of La Crosse Resident to use the site. For residents to be authorized, an application for a permit sticker should be filled out on your first visit or by using the form below and the sticker will be mailed to you. Permit stickers, including ones issued in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 will be valid until further notice. Contractors and small haulers must fill out a form showing what La Crosse address(es) the materials are coming from. Contractors can either print off the form below and take it with them to the drop off site or fill one out at the site for every trip and give it to the attendant. Contractors must show proof of where materials came from. Currently there is no fee to use the drop-off site for residents. Select the correct form below:

• Residential Yard Waste & Brush Site Permit Application
• Contractor/Hauler Yard Waste & Brush Site Form

Other services available: 

• ORGANICS/FOOD WASTE DROP OFF-Wait for an attendant to check you in, then enter at the gate labeled 'Organics and Cooking Oil'. During winter months please call the Recycling Department at 789-7508 to schedule a drop off. See below for details on Organics.
• COOKING OIL DROP OFF-There are drums for residents to drop off cooled cooking oil. Wait for an attendant to check you in, then enter at the gate labeled 'Organics and Cooking Oil'. During winter months please call the Recycling Department at 789-7508 to schedule a drop off.
• FINISHED COMPOST, when available, it is free for residents-shovel your own.
• WOOD CHIPS, when available from Parks Dept, it is free for residents-shovel your own. 

Brush

Stumps, trunks, root balls, and branches & limbs over 8-inches in diameter and over 8-feet in length. No railroad ties or lumber.

What about larger items or disposal during the winter months?
When branches and tree limbs are larger than described or when Isle La Plume is closed, you can take them to the La Crosse County Landfill. The landfill is open from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM weekdays in the winter.

Brush Week (April 21-May 2, 2025) ***Please place brush out by April 21st.

Brush tied in bundles with cotton string less than 4-feet long and weighing less than 50-pounds will be picked up on the boulevard. Brush (tree branches) tied in bundles with cotton string, less than 4-feet long, and weighing less than 50-pounds will be picked up on the boulevard. To ensure pick up, brush must be placed near the curb by 6:30 AM, April 21st. We will not collect piles of brush that are not neatly bundled. We do not collect tree trunks, stumps, tree roots or shrubs, bushes, or root balls. The rest of the season, brush must be taken to our drop-off site or to the County Landfill for a fee.

Organics/Food Waste

Food waste is defined as fruit & vegetable matter (including cores and rinds), flour & grain items such as bread, rice, and pasta, coffee grounds & filters, and eggshells. It also includes uneaten food/leftovers. See the detailed list here. During spring-fall months, wait for an attendant to check you in, then enter at the gate labeled 'Organics and Cooking Oil'. This area is for large amounts of Organics. If you have a small amount mixed in with Yard Waste, use the regular compactors.  If you prefer to use subscription service contract with Harter's Quick Clean-Up. During the winter months, contact our main office at 608-789-7508 to drop off food waste. See bottom of page for subscription service information. 

What is not acceptable food waste?
We cannot accept any fish & meat (including their byproducts), dairy, fats, grease, lards, oils, or liquids. No packaging, bags, wrappers, trays, twine, or lids, etc. are allowed. No paper compostable packaging is allowed. If these items are mixed in when you come to the drop-off site, your container will not be accepted.

How can I dispose of my food waste during the spring-fall months?
Place it in the yard waste compactors, the same way you dispose of grass clippings and garden waste. It cannot be bagged. If you want it picked up curbside, you may sign up with Harter’s Quick Clean-Up for subscription service (see bottom of page for more information).

How can I dispose of my food waste during the winter months?
When the yard waste site is closed for the season, residents must check in at our main office and we will direct you accordingly. You must call ahead at 608-789-7508. Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM-3:00 PM

How would you recommend residents haul food waste to your site?
We suggest a bucket with lid that you can dump and take with you. Regardless of whether they are labeled compostable or not, we do not accept any bags, boxes or containers at our site. You may haul use anything to haul materials here, but you would need to empty it on-site and dispose of the bag/container separately.

Yard Waste

Yard waste is defined as grass clippings, leaves, weeds and the tops of garden plants. If it does not meet this description, it will not be allowed at the yard waste site. PAPER COMPOSTABLE BAGS CANNOT BE PUT IN THE COMPACTORS. Just like garbage cans and plastic bags, paper compostable bags must now be emptied into compactor and disposed of separately. If you want curbside collection, you may sign up with Harter’s Quick Clean-Up for 'subscription service'.

Pickup Of Yard Waste & Food Waste As A ‘Subscription Service’ Through Harter's Quick Clean-Up

Residents who want their yard and food waste (NOT BRUSH) picked up at the curb or alley should contact the Harter’s Quick Clean-Up, 608-782-2082, to set up Subscription Service. This means the fees are direct billed by Harter’s to the property owner. Yard waste collection is seasonal and is in a cart designated specifically for Yard Waste and allows for a small amount of food waste too. Current pricing for 2024: The 95-gallon cart will be delivered for a flat fee of $25. Weekly collection is $28.25/month; bi-weekly collection is $18.00/month; monthly collection is $17.00/month. This service is available seasonally April through November. 

Harter's also provides an Organics cart specifically for food waste and also allows for a small amount of yard debris. This subscription service is $38/month and runs year-round.

The list of accepted items allowed as food waste is attached above in the Food Waste section.