Yard Waste
Yard Trimmings Collection
Yard trimming recycling is mandatory in the
City of Santa Clarita. To easily participate in this program,
simply place your yard trimmings in the 64-gallon gray recycling
container at the curb on the same day as your regular trash
collection.
You can recycle:
- Leaves
- Grass clippings
- Weeds
- Twigs
- Shrubbery
- Tree trimmings
We cannot accept:
- Yard trimmings in plastic bags or wrapped
in cloth or wire
- Agave, yucca, palm, bamboo or juniper
- Kitchen scraps, fruit, trash or hazardous
waste
- Dirt, rocks, asphalt, concrete or sand
- Animal waste
- Painted or treated wood, scrap lumber, formica
or nails
Remember: No plastic bags
Gardening and Landscape Services
If you have a regular landscape service or
gardener, please share this information with them and ask that
your yard trimmings be placed in your yard trimmings bin. You
may be able to negotiate a lower landscaping fee from your gardener.
If your gardener takes the yard trimmings to a recycling location,
or you compost or mulch your own yard trimmings, you may be
eligible for an exemption from the yard trimmings program. This
will reduce your trash bill by $1.50 per month. Contact the
City's Environmental Services Division for an exemption application.
If you have extra yard trimmings, please call
your hauler for 12 free yard trimmings tickets. Your hauler
can also provide you with information on the proper way to bundle
your extra yard trimmings. Yard trimmings may also be dropped
off locally (for a small charge) at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
Home Composting
Composting is nature's way of recycling. It
is the biological decomposition of organic debris such as leaves,
grass clippings, fruit and vegetable trimmings and other organic
material commonly found in the trash. Compost refers to the
stable humus or soil-like product of decomposition.
Home composting is another way Santa Clarita
residents can reduce their waste, save resources and protect
valuable landfill space. Composting is the optimum way to turn
organic materials into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Soil
conditioned with compost drains better, needs less irrigation
and resists surface crusting and erosion. In Santa Clarita,
a significant amount of the garbage disposed of annually is
organic green waste.
You can apply for a Yard Trimmings Program
exemption if you compost at home.
Home Compost Demonstration Site
The Los Angeles County Department of Public
Works has developed a Backyard Compost Center at the Castaic
Lake Water Agency Garden in Santa Clarita. This center is intended
to stimulate interest in home composting and provide examples
of different methods that homeowners and gardeners may utilize
to convert their yard waste into useful compost. If you are
interested in backyard composting, contact the City's Environmental
Services Division for a Composting Brochure and additional information
on the County's Composting Demonstration Site.
Do Compost:
Greens (Nitrogen)
- Yard trimmings
- Green leaves
- Manure
- Kitchen waste: egg shells, coffee grounds,
tea and tea bags, vegetable and fruit trimmings
Browns (Carbon)
- Wood chips
- Sawdust
- Paper towels
- Dried leaves
- Shredded paper
- Straw/hay
Do NOT Compost:
- Meat
- Bones
- Milk
- Fat
- Cat or dog waste
For more information, visit our
compost
site.
