Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: This pilot program ended April 29, 2011. Some questions and answers may be outdated or no longer applicable.
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Top Ten
Q. Why did I receive a green yard trimmings cart?
A. You have been selected for a City of San José pilot program where yard trimmings (YT) will be collected only in the green YT carts. Yard trimmings will no longer be collected loose in piles on the street in pilot areas, such as yours, except during your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. Letters explaining the program should have been received October 22 - 23, 2009, with follow-up letters being received November 9 – 10, 2009. Please call the City of San José Customer Service Contact Center if you did not receive the letters.
Q. Why is the City doing this pilot program?
A. A pilot program is the best way to make program changes on a small scale before implementing citywide. Data gathered from this pilot program will assist the City in redesigning the Recycle Plus program to meet our goal of Zero Waste by 2022.
Q. What is the City testing or piloting?
A. This pilot program will test which is the most effective method of collecting yard trimmings (loose in the street vs. cart collection). Data received from this pilot will help us determine operational challenges, customer satisfaction, differences in amount of material collected between the two methods, and cost effectiveness. Currently, the City offers residents a combination of loose in the street and cart collection which is the most expensive way of collecting yard trimmings. We are also testing if discontinuing weekly loose in the street collection will result in less vegetation in the storm drain system.
Q. How many households were selected for this pilot program?
A. 5,000 households citywide were selected for this pilot program. Approximately 1,300 of the 5,000 households already subscribe to yard trimmings cart collection service.
Q. Will my collection day remain the same?
A. Yes, your garbage and recycling collection day will remain the same.
Q. What if I normally have more yard trimmings than will fit into one cart?
A. If you have more yard trimmings than will fit in your cart, we ask that you please store them for the next week’s collection or for your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. If that is not possible, we will be more than happy to deliver up to two (2) extra 96-gallon YT carts, in addition to the initial cart delivered at the start of the pilot, at no extra charge.
Q. Will I be charged for YT cart collection service during this pilot program?
A. No, households within the pilot program areas will not be charged for YT cart collection service for the duration of the pilot program.
Q. What do we do about large branches and palm fronds that won’t all fit in the YT cart?
Yard trimmings, such as branches and palm fronds, need to be cut down to sizes that will fit loosely in the green YT cart and allow the lid to close. If you still have more yard trimmings than will fit in your cart, we ask that you please store them for the next week’s collection or for your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. If that is not possible, we will be more than happy to deliver up to two (2) extra 96-gallon YT carts at no extra charge.
Q. What goes in the green YT cart?
A. Only yard trimmings should be placed in the green YT cart. This includes: branches, sod (remove as much soil as possible), prunings, and clippings (flowers, grass, leaves, palm fronds).
Q. What does not go in the green YT cart?
A. Only yard trimmings should be placed in the green YT cart. The following items should not be placed in the green YT cart: garbage, recycling, food waste, lumber, concrete, rocks, pet waste, and ashes.
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Program Basics
Q. Who do I contact to voice my opinions regarding this pilot program?
A. Please feel free to call our City of San José Customer Service Contact Center at (408) 535-3500 to let us know your opinion about the pilot program. Resident feedback and customer satisfaction is a very important component of this pilot program. Your opinion, and those of your neighbors, will help shape current and future program changes.
Q. Why did I receive a green yard trimmings cart?
A. You have been selected for a City of San José pilot program where yard trimmings (YT) will be collected only in the green YT carts. Yard trimmings will no longer be collected loose in piles on the street in pilot areas, such as yours, except during your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. Letters explaining the program should have been received October 22 - 23, 2009, with follow-up letters being received November 9 – 10, 2009. Please call the City of San José Customer Service Contact Center if you did not receive the letters.
Q. Why is the City doing this pilot program?
A. A pilot program is the best way to make program changes on a small scale before implementing citywide. Data gathered from this pilot program will assist the City in redesigning the Recycle Plus program to meet our goal of Zero Waste by 2022.
Q. What is the City testing or piloting?
A. This pilot program will test which is the most effective method of collecting yard trimmings (loose in the street vs. cart collection). Data received from this pilot will help us determine operational challenges, customer satisfaction, differences in amount of material collected between the two methods, and cost effectiveness. Currently, the City offers residents a combination of loose in the street and cart collection which is the most expensive way of collecting yard trimmings. We are also testing if discontinuing weekly loose in the street collection will result in less vegetation in the storm drain system.
Q. How does this pilot help the City of San José reach their Zero Waste goal?
A. The City’s goal is to divert 100% of our waste from the landfills. This pilot program will show us if there will be changes in diversion rates for yard trimmings as a result of moving to YT cart collection with scheduled loose in the street collection, as opposed to a combination of both cart and loose in the street collection provided on a weekly basis. The data provided will assist the City of San José in redesigning the Recycle Plus program in order to meet our Zero Waste goal.
Q. How were residents selected?
A. Pilot areas were selected based upon the following: collection day, collection route, proximity to stormwater catch basins, differences in area vegetation (light vs. heavy), Hauler district, and Council District. We chose areas that would best provide us with information and data representative of the entire City.
Q. How many households were selected for this pilot program?
A. 5,000 households citywide were selected for this pilot program. Approximately 1,300 of the 5,000 households already subscribe to yard trimmings cart collection service.
Q. Why does my neighbor, across the street, not have to participate in the pilot?
A. The pilot program only involves 5,000 households citywide and may or may not include neighborhoods and streets adjacent to your home. It is possible that one side of a street is participating in the pilot, while the other side of the street is not.
Q. What if I don’t want to participate?
A. Please keep in mind that the green YT cart is required for collection of yard trimmings in pilot program neighborhoods such as yours. Yard trimmings are no longer being collected loose in piles on the street, except during your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. If you do not require yard trimmings collection service (e.g., a gardener takes your yard trimmings away, you compost at home), we will be happy to pick up the green YT cart on your next collection day.
Q. Can I participate even if I am not in a pilot area?
A. We apologize, but the pilot area households have already been selected and we are not able to accommodate additional participants. If you would like to subscribe to yard trimmings cart collection service, please call our contact center and we can set you up with the service for a nominal fee.
Q. What if I continue to place yard trimmings loose in the street?
A. Yard trimmings are no longer being collected loose in piles on the street in pilot program neighborhoods such as yours. The green YT cart is now required for collection of yard trimmings. Any piles placed in the street will not be picked up for the duration of the pilot program (through April 2011), except on your once-a-month loose in the street collection day.
Q. Will my collection day remain the same?
A. Yes, your garbage and recycling collection day will remain the same.
Q. Will curbside setout of all other items remain the same?
A. Curbside placement of garbage, recyclables, and used motor oil and filters will remain the same.
Q. What should I do about leaves on the street?
A. Leaves on the street directly in front of your home should be raked up and placed in the green YT cart. Street sweeping will still occur once a month on your sweep day, but the best way to keep your street clean is to have each household rake up leaves in the street and place them in the green YT cart.
Q. Will Christmas trees still be collected?
A. Yes, free Christmas tree collection will occur between December 27, 2010 and January 28, 2011. Residents will be asked to cut the trees into 5-foot lengths and place in a pile one foot from the curb for pick up on their collection day. All other yard trimmings must be placed in the green YT cart.
Q. I am moving out. How will the next resident know they are participating in the pilot program?
A. Since you will be leaving the green YT cart on the premise after you move out, the new resident will participate by using that same cart for yard trimmings collection. When the new resident calls the City of San José to start their Recycle Plus services, the customer contact center will see that the premise is in a pilot area and will advise the new resident of program details.
Q. Why can’t the CIty do a loose-in-street YT collection only pilot program?
A. The City of San José has offered loose in the street yard trimmings collection service since the early 1990s and no longer requires additional data on the program.
Q. Why not continue with the way things are? It will be cheaper to keep things the same.
A. The City currently offers residents a combination of loose in the street and cart collection which is the most expensive way of collecting yard trimmings, since two sets of equipment are needed for collection. In addition to finding the most cost effective way of collecting yard trimmings, the City needs to make major program changes to Recycle Plus services in order to meet our Zero Waste goal by 2022.
Q. Are there other pilot programs besides this one?
A. Yes, the City is implementing three (3) different pilot programs citywide involving a total of 16,500 residents. Pilot area residents will receive communication materials specific to the program they have been selected for.
Q. Does this mean the City will eventually require carts Citywide?
A. No decisions have been made in regards to future plans for yard trimmings collection. This and other pilot programs will help the City make future decisions and redesign the Recycle Plus program.
Q. Will there be only one survey sent out?
A. There will be multiple surveys sent out during the pilot program. Resident feedback is very important to us and the surveys are a great way to gauge customer satisfaction on the pilot program. In addition to the surveys, there are other ways to communicate with us:
City of San José Customer Contact Center
(408) 535-3500
Pilot Program Email Address
pilotinput@sanjoseca.gov
Pilot Program Website
www.sjrecycles.org/pilot
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Monthly Collection
Q. Why are you providing monthly loose in the street collection of yard trimmings?
A. In response to resident and Council Office feedback, we have modified the pilot program. Residents can place yard trimmings material loose in piles on the street for collection once-a-month. This service will be in addition to the YT cart collection and is meant for excess yard trimmings material that will not fit in the yard trimmings cart.
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Carts
Q. What if I normally have more yard trimmings than will fit into one cart?
A. If you have more yard trimmings than will fit in your cart, we ask that you please store them for the next week’s collection or for your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. If that is not possible, we will be more than happy to deliver up to two (2) extra 96-gallon YT carts, in addition to the initial cart delivered at the start of the pilot, at no extra charge.
Q. What if I need more than three (3) YT carts?
A. Unfortunately, our agreement with our hauler (Green Waste Recovery) does not allow for collection of more than the maximum of three (3) YT carts per household.
Q. What if I need a replacement YT cart?
A. Service recipients will still be entitled to the replacement of one (1) lost, destroyed, or stolen YT cart per year at no charge. Replacements in excess of once per year will be subject to a charge.
Q. I requested additional YT carts for the fall season. Is it free to have these additional carts removed from my premise?
A. We kindly ask that you store the extra carts for the next fall season. If this is not possible, the City of San José Customer Service Contact Center will be more than happy to setup a request to remove the additional carts at no additional charge.
Q. I already subscribe to YT cart service, but now I see everyone getting a larger size YT cart. Can I get a larger one?
A. Yes, we will be more than happy to exchange your 32 or 64 gallon YT cart for the larger 96-gallon YT cart at no charge. It is important to make sure that you are choosing the size that best fits your needs, since exchanges in excess of once per year will be subject to a charge.
Q. What if I want to exchange my initial YT cart for a different size?
A. We recommend trying out the 96-gallon YT cart for at least one month before deciding to downsize. If downsizing is necessary, service recipients are allowed to exchange for a different size at no charge. It is important to make sure that you are choosing the size that best fits your needs, since extra yard trimmings will not be picked up if placed in piles on the street, except during your once-a-month loose in the street collection day.
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Costs
Q. What if I already subscribe to yard trimmings cart service?
A. You will not be charged for the YT cart for the duration of the pilot program. If you have already paid for the
month of November, your account will be credited by the next billing cycle.
Q. Will I be charged for YT cart collection service during this pilot program?
A. No, households within the pilot program areas will not be charged for YT cart collection service for the duration of the pilot program.
Q. Will I be charged for exchanging my YT cart for a different size?
A. We recommend trying out the 96-gallon YT cart for at least one month before deciding to downsize. If downsizing is necessary, service recipients will be allowed to exchange for a different size at no charge. It is important to make sure that you are choosing the size that best fits your needs, since extra yard trimmings will not be picked up if placed in piles on the street, except during and your once-a-month loose in the street collection day.
Q. Will I be charged for a replacement YT cart?
A. Service recipients will still be entitled to the replacement of one (1) lost, destroyed, or stolen YT cart per year at no charge. Replacements in excess of once per year will be subject to a charge.
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Service
Q. Our neighborhood does volunteer clean-ups of medians and park strips, often collecting large amounts of trimmings. How can neighborhood groups deal with collection for volunteer clean-ups?
A. Pilot area residents are allowed up to two (2) additional 96-gallon YT carts per premise, at no additional charge, while participating in the pilot. Neighborhood groups are welcome to call the City of San José (408-535-3500) and request additional carts as long as the person calling is a pilot area resident. In addition, there will be collection of loose in the street overages during your once-a-month loose in the street collection day.
Q. How do other cities handle yard trimmings collections?
A. San José is just one of a very few cities, and the only large city in the U.S., that offer loose in the street yard waste collection. Other large cities, such as San Francisco and Oakland, collect yard trimmings solely in yard trimmings/organics carts.
Q. What are the advantages of yard trimmings cart collection?
A. Advantages of yard trimmings cart collection include cleaner looking streets, ease of parking constraints, mitigation of early setouts, and lowered costs to the City due to a single collection method. This pilot program will help determine additional advantages and disadvantages of YT cart collection.
Q. What if I am physically unable to push the YT cart out to the curb?
A. The City has a service called “on premise service” in which the driver goes onto the property to collect the cart and returns it once the material has been loaded into the vehicle. Currently, this service comes at a $50 premium to the customer so that the City can recover the costs to pay the hauler for the extra service. However, for residents who are physically unable to wheel their garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings carts out to the curb for collection, the City provides this on-premise service option at no extra charge. There is an application that needs to be filled out and we require a physician's certification to qualify. If you are interested, please call the contact center at (408) 535-3500 to obtain an application. You can also get more information about special rates at http://www.sjrecycles.org/residents/special_rates.asp.
Q. What do we do about large branches and palm fronds that won’t all fit in the YT cart?
A. Yard trimmings, such as branches and palm fronds, need to be cut down to sizes that will fit loosely in the green YT cart and allow the lid to close. If you still have more yard trimmings than will fit in your cart, we ask that you please store them for the next week’s collection or for your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. If that is not possible, we will be more than happy to deliver up to two (2) extra 96-gallon YT carts at no extra charge.
Q. What about the heavy volumes of yard trimmings at specific times, e.g., in autumn?
A. There will be collection of excess piles of yard trimmings during the scheduled once-a-month loose in the street collection days. In the fall season (November 2010–January2011), a second loose in the street collection has been added to accomodate the increase in leaves.
Q. What if the hauler did not collect my pile of yard trimmings?
A. Since you reside in a pilot area, loose in the street yard trimmings are no longer being collected in your neighborhood, except on your once-a-month loose in the street collection day. We ask that you please place the pile of yard trimmings in the green YT cart and setout the cart on your next collection day for pickup. If your pile did not get picked up on your scheduled once-a-month loose in the street collection day, please call (408) 535-3500 for assistance.
Q. Will this pilot program affect early setouts?
A. This pilot program does not change rules for setout times. Yard trimmings carts should be setout no more than 24 hours before your scheduled collection day.
Q. How many households currently subscribe to YT cart collections service?
A. Approximately twenty-six percent (26%) of single family homes citywide subscribe to YT cart collections service.
Q. How can you tell me to store my extra yard trimmings for next week’s collection? What about next week’s yard trimmings?
A. If you routinely have more yard trimmings than will fit in your cart and are unable to store them for the next week’s collection or your once-a-month loose in the street collection day, we will be more than happy to deliver up to two (2) additional 96-gallon YT carts at no extra charge.
Q. When can I setout my YT cart?
A. Pilot area residents can setout their green yard trimmings cart no more than 24 hours before their scheduled collection day. The cart must be setout by 6 AM on the collection day and removed from the curb by the end of the day immediately following collection.
Q. What about illegal dumping by landscapers?
A. Illegal dumping in the streets can be reported by calling (408) 277-4373. Illegal dumping in storm drains can be reported by calling (408) 945-3000.
Q. What goes in the green YT cart?
A. Only yard trimmings should be placed in the green YT cart. This includes: branches, sod (remove as much soil as possible), prunings, and clippings (flowers, grass, leaves, palm fronds).
Q. What does not go in the green YT cart?
A. Only yard trimmings should be placed in the green YT cart. The following items should not be placed in the green YT cart: garbage, recycling, food waste, lumber, concrete, rocks, pet waste, and ashes.
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Program End
Q. What was the outcome of this pilot program?
A. At the end of the 18-month pilot program, City of San José staff will evaluate information and data gathered during the pilots and decide the best method for yard trimmings collection based upon customer satisfaction, yard trimmings tonnage, costs, and stormwater catch basin data.
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