Yard waste in Carson goes in the 96-gallon GREEN-lid organics cart along with food scraps — that is the SB 1383 organics stream. Branches, leaves, grass clippings, prunings and small wood are all accepted. Items too large to fit in the cart can be scheduled as a free bulky pickup with Waste Resources ("large yard waste" is an eligible bulky category). Open burning of yard waste is prohibited under South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 444 and Health & Safety Code §41800 et seq.; stockpiling green waste so it becomes a nuisance is a CMC code-enforcement violation.
Under SB 1383 (PRC §42652 et seq.), yard trimmings are organic waste and must be diverted from landfill. Carson satisfies the mandate by providing every residential unit a 96-gallon green-lid organics cart serviced weekly by Waste Resources. The green cart commingles food scraps and yard trimmings — Carson does NOT operate a separate green-waste-only cart. Acceptable yard waste: grass clippings, leaves, weeds, small prunings, flowers, brush, branches under the size that fits in the cart with the lid closed. Large yard waste (large branches, tree trunks, palm fronds) that won't fit in the cart can be scheduled as a free bulky pickup (one of the 5 items per quarter for SFR households). Open burning of leaves, brush, or yard debris is prohibited in Carson by Cal. Health & Safety Code §41800 et seq. and South Coast AQMD Rule 444 (Carson is within the South Coast Air Basin). Allowing green waste to accumulate so it becomes a fly/rodent harborage or fire hazard is enforceable as a public nuisance under CMC Art. 5 Ch. 2 and the city's nuisance abatement provisions.
Putting yard waste in the black trash cart violates SB 1383 source-separation requirements and can draw a Waste Resources red-tag warning escalating to CMC Art. 5 Ch. 2 administrative citations (typically $100/$200/$500 per Gov. Code §53069.4). Open-burning yard waste is a Health & Safety Code §41800 / SCAQMD Rule 444 violation with civil penalties up to $1,000/day (Health & Safety Code §42402). Stockpiled green waste creating a nuisance is abatable under CMC Art. 1 Ch. 1 with cost recovery.
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