Neighborhoood of Land Park Chosen for Yard Waste Collection Program

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities has announced that Land Park residents are now eligible for the voluntary Containerized Yard Waste program. The way the City of Sacramento has set up the program, all the homes in Land Park are automatically enrolled in the program, unless you decide to opt out. Personally, I'm all for it, and I'll tell you why.

• How many times have you been shaken awake by the annoying sound of that giant claw scraping the street?
• Do you admire the piles of dead leaves, tree branches and yard waste dumped in front of our Land Park homes?
• Have you ever had a flat tire because you accidentally drove over a pile of lawn waste in the street? OK, maybe that's only me.
  
• Do you want to save 24% on your utility bill?
• Would you like to reduce emissions in the air by reducing the number of vehicles used for waste collection?
• Are you tired of the sewer drains backing up because of yard waste and pollutants falling into the sewer drains?

Here is what's going to happen. Sometime between February 21 and February 25, the City of Sacramento will deliver a 96-gallon yard waste container to your home. The first collection will be in March, on your regular garbage and recycling collection day. The loose-in-the-street yard waste program fee will be reduced from $12.41 for a single-family home to $9.37.

Depending on the time of year, some yard waste stuff won't fit in the containers, so the City of Sacramento will still do loose-in-the-street collections according to the following schedule:

• Second week in January
• Last week in February
• Last week in May
• Last week in October
• During November and December, every other week.

I guess this means I'll rarely get the chance to boast to my husband that we have the largest pile of yard waste in the street, as though that's some sort of honor. Yeah, my pile is bigger than your pile.

Here are some other garbage and recycling tips:

• When you haul your containers to the street, make sure you place them 3-feet apart from each other. Otherwise, the mechanical arm that reaches out to grab them will knock over your other containers if they're too close together.
• Put the containers in the street, which means not on the curb, sidewalk or in the bike lane.
• Take the containers to the street the night before so you don't have to get before 6 AM to do it.

You can also save money on your utility bill if you downsize your garbage can. For example, a large garbage can costs almost $20 a month, but a small garbage can is only $12.41 a month. For more information, go to City of Sacramento Utilities or call 916.264.5011.

Photo: Big Stock Photo