Welcome to the Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot
Pilot ended on Friday, April 29, 2011
Thank you for participating in the Food for the Earth pilot program. This program ended on April 29, 2011, and pilot neighborhoods returned to weekly loose-in-the-street yard trimmings collection the following week, May 2. If your yard trimmings cart was not removed or was removed by mistake, please call the Customer Contact Center at (408) 535-3500 or email us at PilotInput@sanjoseca.gov.
NOTE: This webpage is for reference only. The information contained within this site no longer applies since the pilot program has ended.
Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot
San José is the only major city in the United States that uses a combination of loose-in-the–street and cart collection for yard trimmings. This dual system is a very expensive operation in a city with more than one million residents. The Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot is an attempt to identify the most effective method for collecting yard trimmings that can also bring San José closer to Zero Waste.
The Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot will help determine the best method for capturing yard trimmings and to measure the costs of collection in a “cart-only” system. This pilot will assess if carts are effective at diverting large amounts of yard trimmings from the landfills. In addition, this pilot will evaluate whether the cart system reduces debris entering the storm drains and creeks. Yard trimmings placed in the street wash through the storm drains into the creek system and the organic debris harms natural habitat. The pilot program also provides opportunities to conduct surveys that will help gauge customer satisfaction with the green cart collection of yard trimmings.
Background
In September 2009, the City Council approved the Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot as part of the Food for the Earth Program. This pilot requires customers to place yard trimmings in green carts for weekly collection instead of piling the material loose in the street. Residents with occasional extras may place these loose in the street for monthly collection on their monthly collection day.
The Yard Trimmings Cart Pilot includes approximately 4,800 single-family households (2.3% citywide) in Council Districts 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10. Pilot areas were selected based on neighborhoods representing San José’s diverse demographics, and specific areas with a large amount of shaded trees near storm drains with catch basins monitored by the City.
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How to Participate
- You must be a resident in the Food for the Earth pilot areas in order to participate. Pilot residents were notified via mail in late October 2009.
- Simply place ALL of your yard trimmings in the green cart for collection on the day your garbage and recycling carts are collected.
- If you have more yard trimmings and leaves than will fit in the cart, store them for the following week’s collection on your property or set them out for your monthly loose in the street collection day.
- If you routinely have more yard trimmings than fit into one cart, contact Customer Service at 408-535-3500 for assistance.
- Provide feedback at any time by calling Customer Service at (408) 535-3500, sending your comments to PilotInput@sanjoseca.gov or entering your comments in the feedback form.
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Monthly Loose in the Street
All yard trimmings must be placed in green carts for weekly collection. To allow for the collection of large pruning jobs or other material such as fall leaves, the pilot program includes loose in the street collection once-per-month.
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What Goes in the Green Cart
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What Does NOT Go in the Green Cart
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