Yard Trimmings

Yard trimmings are collected weekly from residential homes, mobile home parks, and participating condos and apartments. Collection varies by complex; contact your property manager for details.

Find your yard trimmings collection or sweep day using the Residential Services Lookup.

San José offers two ways to collect yard trimmings:

• Place your yard trimmings loose in the street (no extra charge).
• Place in your optional yard trimmings cart for collection.

Yard trimmings carts are available for an additional monthly fee. Call GreenWaste Recovery at (408) 283-4800 to order a yard trimmings cart and start your yard trimmings subscription.

What are Yard Trimmings?

Yard Trimmings Setout Instructions

Follow these simple guidelines when setting out your yard trimmings:

1. Piles should be 5 by 5 feet or less and be placed at least 1 foot from the curb and 5 feet from carts, cars and additional piles.
2. Branches should be less than 5 feet long and smaller than 6 inches diameter.
3. Yard trimmings carts and piles should be kept out of bike lanes and red curbed areas.
4. For public safety, carts and piles should be set out no more than 24 hours before collection and no later than 6 AM on your collection day.
5. Sweep up and remove yard trimmings that remain behind after collection; do not re-pile them. Residents can save trimmings for the next collection week or save for composting.
6. Remember to avoid parking on top of yard trimmings piles in the street and keep yard trimmings out of the garbage and recycling containers. This helps to prevent contamination of recyclables, especially paper.

Watch this video to see how San José residential yard trimmings are transformed into organic compost, used for many purposes including local agriculture. Thank you for following these simple guidelines and keeping the material clean!

Street Sweeping

Residential streets are swept once a month between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the day after garbage collection. Look up your street sweeping day or call GreenWaste Recovery at (408) 283-4800.

Street sweeping protects our environment by removing pollutants from the street where they can enter storm drains, creeks and our Bay, and harm fish and wildlife.

Tips for a Clean Sweep

• Move your vehicle by 6 a.m. on sweep day. One parked car prevents about three car lengths of curb from being swept. Visit Vehicle Abatement to report vehicles abandoned for more than 72 hours. Always obey posted "no parking" or street sweeping schedule signs to avoid tickets or towing.
• Rake up leaves or remaining yard trimmings – set them out on your next collection day.
• Prune overhanging tree branches at least 14 feet above the street. Pruning street trees is the property owner’s responsibility and requires a free permit, available by calling the City’s Trees and Landscaping section at (408) 794-1901.

Learn about street sweeping in San José.

Fun Sweeper Facts

• Sweepers protect our water quality by preventing over 3,800 tons of oil, metals, and debris from entering our watershed each year.
• Sweepers use high-tech vacuum technology, not water, to clean the streets. Only small amounts of water are used to control the dust generated during sweeping.
• Sweepers use 250 mph blasts of air to clean the street surface.