San Jose offers weekly curbside yard-trimmings pickup as a loose pile placed at the curb, plus optional cart service. Materials are mulched or composted under California SB 1383. Christmas trees are collected free for two weeks after Christmas.
San Jose residents in single-family homes receive weekly yard-trimmings collection from GreenWaste Recovery as part of the standard garbage rate. The default service is a loose curbside pile, placed within four feet of the curb but at least three feet from cars, mailboxes, and other obstacles, by 6:00 AM on collection day. Acceptable materials include grass, leaves, weeds, flowers, branches, and untreated wood. Branches must be no longer than four feet and no thicker than six inches in diameter; bundles must be tied with natural twine. Plastic bags are prohibited — material must be loose or in kraft paper yard-waste bags. Residents may instead opt for a 96-gallon yard-trimmings cart. Collected materials are processed into compost and mulch consistent with California SB 1383 organics-recycling mandates. Christmas trees are collected free during the first two weeks of January if cut into four-foot sections.
Improper setout (oversized piles, plastic bags, mixing trash with yard waste) results in collection refusal and tagging. Repeated illegal dumping or contamination can carry administrative citations up to $500 per occurrence.
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See how San Jose's yard waste collection rules stack up against other locations.
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