Sonoma supplies every residence with a 96-gallon green organics cart for grass, leaves, hedge clippings, branches, and untreated lumber; yard waste must go in the green cart under SMC Ch. 7.10 (SB 1383) and may not be burned because the City sits in a CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / WUI.
Sonoma Garbage Collectors provides each residential customer a 96-gallon green cart for combined yard debris and food scraps. Per City and Zero Waste Sonoma guidance, the green cart accepts grass clippings, leaves, flowers, hedge clippings, weeds, tree branches, tree trunks, and untreated lumber, plus food scraps and food-soiled paper. SMC Chapter 7.10 (implementing SB 1383 / 14 CCR Div. 7, Ch. 12) makes diversion of organic waste — including yard trimmings — from the landfill mandatory; throwing yard waste in the gray trash cart is a code violation. For volumes that exceed the 96-gallon cart, SGC offers 20-yard and 30-yard yard-waste/wood debris boxes by appointment. Open burning of yard waste is prohibited: the City of Sonoma is within a CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / Wildland-Urban Interface and is subject to BAAQMD's permanent prohibition on residential open burning of yard waste under BAAQMD Regulation 5 / California Public Resources Code §4291 vegetation-management requirements rather than burning. Bay Area-wide, BAAQMD Regulation 5-401 generally prohibits the open burning of refuse and waste, including residential yard waste.
Putting yard waste in the gray trash cart is a SB 1383 contamination violation, subject to SMC Ch. 7.10 enforcement and 14 CCR §18997.2 tiered fines ($50–$500/day depending on severity). Burning yard waste violates BAAQMD Regulation 5-401 (open burning), which carries civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation per day under Cal. Health & Safety Code §42402 (and significantly more for negligent or intentional violations), and during a Red Flag day can also trigger Cal. Penal Code §452 (reckless burning) charges. The City can issue SMC Ch. 1.28 administrative citations ($100 / $200 / $500) layered on top.
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