Yard Trimmings

San José has two ways to collect yard trimmings.
Place your yard trimmings loose in the street or in your optional
yard trimmings cart for collection. If you fill your yard trimmings
cart, place extra yard trimmings loose in the street. Optional yard
trimmings carts are available for an additional monthly fee by calling
(408) 535-3515. Loose collection of yard trimmings is included
in your garbage fee at no extra charge.

Set out yard trimmings in front of your residence no later than
6 AM on your collection day, and no earlier than the day before.
Municipal code prohibits set outs earlier than 24 hours because
they can block parking, obscure vision around piles, and create
safety hazards for cyclists and motorists. Residents can be fined
$25 for early set out of yard trimmings.

Loose in the street piles should be 5 feet by 5 feet, 1 foot from
the curb, and at least 5 feet from any other piles, carts, or parked
cars. Keep your yard trimmings cart 5 feet away from anything that
may block the collection truck, including yard trimmings piles and
parked cars. Avoid putting your carts and yard trimmings piles in
bike lanes or next to red curbs.

Curbside collection of yard trimmings include:
• Branches (5 feet or shorter in length and 6 inches or less
in diameter)
• Flowers
• Grass clippings (or grasscycle
them instead)
• Leaves
• Palm fronds
• Small prunings
• Sod (remove as much soil as possible)
• Undecorated natural or
flocked holiday trees

Curbside collection of yard trimmings do NOT include:
• Ashes
• Concrete
• Dirt
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Lumber
• Pumpkins
• Pet waste
• Rocks

Some neighborhoods are not able to have yard
trimmings collected in the street due to high-density housing, red
curbs or other obstructions. If you live in these mandatory cart
areas, the City will contact you about automated cart collection
requirements and instructions.

Commonly Asked Questions

What happens to the yard trimmings collected
in San José?
Yard trimmings are collected by Norcal and Green Waste Recovery
to be recycled into high-quality soil amendments, compost, mulch,
or wood chips. Some of compost isused in our City parks and community
gardens while the balance is sold for agricultural use, and to local
nurseries and soil yards.

Why does San Jose pick up yard trimmings
separately from garbage and recycling?
Yard trimmings represent about 35 percent of the City’s residential
waste stream. By separating the trimmings from the garbage, the
City not only avoids dumping nearly an additional 130,000 tons per
year or more into its landfills, but makes a valuable product for
improving soils.