South Bend’s yard waste pickup season underway

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Yard waste season is back in Michiana, with the city of South Bend kicking off its annual pickup program on Monday.

The city’s annual yard waste season lasts through the end of November. For $4.50 per month, the city will pick up grass clippings, leaves, and other yard waste every week.

A 48 or 96-gallon bin is provided. Yard waste is picked up on the same day as normal trash collection.

To sign up for the program, click here or call 311. If you already have a yard waste bin and received service last year, you do not need to sign up again for the program.

Residents are asked to help reduce contamination by only putting grass clippings, leaves, twigs and weeds in the yard waste bins. Items such as animal waste, dirt and rocks, household trash and food waste, lumber, oils, liquids and other hazardous waste, plastic bags. and recycling do NOT belong in yard waste bins.

AMNESTY PERIOD

The city will also offer an amnesty period during the month of April for its extra yard waste pickups. During the amnesty period, the normal limit of ten 30-gallon biodegradable bags or a cubic yard of tied limbs for a free extra pickup will be waived.

Residents, however, will only be able to request one free extra pickup for April. Additional pickup requests for the month will be charged at $10 per cubic yard. To schedule an extra pickup, residents can submit an online request or call 311.

For extra pickups, residents need to follow these guidelines:

• All bags must be the brown, biodegradable paper leaf bags and completely void of any trash debris
• Branches need to be cut to four feet or shorter, be no more than four inches in diameter and bundled securely with twine into manageable bundles
• All items must be curbside by 6 am on trash pickup day
• Yard waste needs to be away from any cars, containers, mailboxes, trees or any other obstructions. Items cannot be under any powerlines or branches
• No plastic of any kind will be accepted

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