Guide for Reuse, Repair, Recycling, and Safe Disposal
for Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the City of Palo Alto

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Yard Trimmings & Plant Debris

Yard trimmings and plant debris include organic material, such as grass clippings, leaves, twigs, dead flowers, from your backyard or garden.

Removed living lawn/turf AND artifcial turf belongs in the Garbage/Landfill. Leave your unwanted living turf/lawn in place by sheetmulching with compost & mulch and you will be able to plant directly into the sheetmulched area.

Keep finished compost clean by not adding any plastics to the green cart. Finished compost is applied to agriculture and ranch lands to enhance water holding capacity, add nutrients and minerals, and sequester carbon in in soil. You can add compost around the base of plants on top of the soil. Use the LawntoGarden Marketplace for compost & mulch sources.

Too many trimmings for your cart?

  • Leave them out to dry such that you can get more in your cart. Talk to your neighbors and offer space in your carts when they need it for space in their green cart. Contact your curbside hauler about the possibility of buying bag tags to put trimmings in Kraft paper bags (from a hardware store or the hauler). If you regularly need the volume of more than 1 bin, your hauler may be able to provide this for residents for minimal to no cost. Hire lawn and yard service folks to drop them off at the transfer station for you, or drop them off yourself (fees apply).

Vendors

Vendor Address City Destination Disposal Method Notes
Vision Recycling (Benicia) 1460 Goodyear Rd. Benicia Compost Drop-off for a Fee, Pick-up for a Fee Not accepted: yucca, agave, palm, poison oak
Green Waste Recycle Yard P.O. Box 2377 Berkeley Compost Drop-off for a Fee Only accept woody organic waste: logs, shrub/bush, branches, log rounds & wood chips
Berkeley Transfer Station 1201 2nd St. Berkeley Compost Drop-off for a Fee Organic (compostable) materials shall be kept separate from other waste to comply with local and state regulations. No sod or plant debris with excessive dirt - this will be handled and charged as refuse. Not allowed: plywood, particle board, painted or treated wood, trash, recyclable materials, and and plastic bags (please empty any plastic bags used to transport debris)
Byron Crushing & Grinding 5595 Byron Hot Springs Rd. Byron Compost Drop-off for a Fee, Pick-up for a Fee Includes whole palm trees and sod
Fremont Recycling & Transfer Station 41149 Boyce Rd. Fremont Compost Drop-off for a Fee Deposit plant debris, food scraps & food-soiled paper in the facility’s designated “clean green” area.
Republic Services, Inc. 42600 Boyce Road Fremont Compost Pick-up for a Fee
Z-Best Composting Facility 980 State Hwy. 25 Gilroy Compost Pick-up for a Fee Commercial composting facility
Vasco Road Landfill & Recycling Drop-off 4001 N. Vasco Rd. Livermore Compost Drop-off for a Fee Construction & Demolition
Altamont Landfill (WM, Inc.) 10840 Altamont Pass Rd. Livermore Compost Drop-off for a Fee
Bio Fuel Systems (@Altamonte Landfill) 10840 Altamont Pass Road
Office to pay & drop materials past WM Scalehouse
Livermore Compost Drop-off for a Fee No palm fronds or trunks
Vision Recycling (Livermore) 30 Greenville Rd Livermore Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Not accepted: yucca, agave, palm, poison oak
Acme Landfill (Fill Corporation) 950 Waterbird Way Martinez Compost Drop-off for a Fee
Contra Costa Transfer & Recovery Station (CCTRS) 951 Waterbird Way Martinez Compost Drop-off for a Fee
Newby Island Landfill & Resource Recovery Park 1601 Dixon Landing Rd. Milpitas Compost Drop-off for a Fee No palm fronds or bamboo for organics drop-off.
Vision Recycling (Newark) 6756 Central Ave Newark Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Not accepted: yucca, agave, palm, poison oak
FERMA Corporation (Newark) Equipment Yard
6655 Smith Ave
Newark Compost Pick-up for a Fee
Oakland Zoo 9777 Golf Links Road Oakland Reuse Free Drop-off Browse should be freshly cut, not dried up and old. If possible, please leave branch length around 5 to 8 feet. No branches over 3 inches in diameter. Drop-offs for small yard trimmings, pickups for large dump truck loads. If you are having a tree company do work at your house, please have the tree company call us directly. Plantlist
Oakland Resident Free Bulky Item Drop Off - Bulky Block Party
7101 Edgewater Dr
Oakland Compost Free Drop-off separated and clean
Waste Management of Alameda County 172 98th Ave. Oakland Compost Pick-up for a Fee Commercial waste hauling service
Commercial Waste & Recycling - C&D, Inerts & landscape yard 725 Independent Road Oakland Compost Drop-off for a Fee Inlcuding difficult green: stumps, cactus, bamboo, palm, logs greater than 18\".

Curbside Service

Organics Bulky Pickup Note
Alameda
Contact hauler for extra residential bags/tags for fee. Yard trimmings will decrease in volume if you let them dry out for a few days (more can fit in your cart).
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Albany
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Berkeley
Residents may also purchase additional pre-paid plant debris bags to place next to cart on regular service day. Limit 10 bags per pickup. Note the Fire Fuel Chipper and Debris Bin Program for Berkeley Hills residents which supports wildfire preparedness efforts.(https://berkeleyca.gov/city-services/trash-recycling/fire-fuel-chipper-and-debris-bin)
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Castro Valley Sanitary District
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Dublin
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Emeryville
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Fremont
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time. Bamboo & Palm fronds go in the trash. Have a lot of palm fronds? Call Republic for a bulky Palm Frond pick up (free).
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Bulky Palm Frond only pick-up (no cost for residents). Call Republic to schedule.
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Hayward
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Hayward (Oro Loma - L2)
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Livermore
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Newark
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Oakland
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Plant debris (paper bagged); Branches (4ft long, 6 in. wide limit). No Rocks, Dirt, Concrete or fiberglass.
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Piedmont
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time. Not accepted in organics: palm fronds, bamboo, ivy
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Pleasanton
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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San Leandro
No palm fronds.
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San Leandro (Oro Loma - L3)
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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San Lorenzo (Oro Loma)
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Unincorporated Oro Loma (L1)
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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Union City
If your trimmings are too much for your bin, let them dry out a few days or wait until next pick up as the volume decreases over time.
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