The City of South Bend’s annual yard waste season begins Monday, April 1, and will run through the end of November. The program offers weekly pickup of yard waste for a fee of $5.50 per month during the season. A 48 or 96-gallon yard waste bin is provided to new customers who sign up with collection taking place on the same day as trash pickup. Interested residents can sign up for the yard waste program at southbendin.gov/yardwaste or by calling 311. Residents, who already have a yard waste bin and received service last year, do not need to sign up again for the program.

Residents are asked to help reduce contamination in yard waste by only putting the following in their bins:

• Grass clippings

• Leaves or weeds

• Twigs or prunings

• Small branches (less than 2” in diameter)

These items are NOT allowed in yard waste bins:

• Animal waste

• Dirt and rocks

• Food waste

• Household trash

• Lumber and large tree limbs

• Oils, liquids and other hazardous waste

• Plastic bags and recycling

Yard waste collected from residents is converted to compost and mulch, which is available free of charge if self-loading at an area outside the City’s Organic Resources facility at 4340 Trade Drive.

When a yard waste bin is contaminated, it can cause the entire truckload to be sent to the landfill instead of being processed as compost or mulch. The City would like to remind customers that if contamination is found, a warning will be issued first. If contamination continues, a fee ranging from $10 to $20 will be issued and will appear on their next utility bill.