March 31, 2025 — The City of South Bend’s annual yard waste season begins Tuesday, April 1 and runs through the end of November. The program offers weekly pickup of yard waste for a fee of $6 per month during the season. New customers will receive a 48 or 96-gallon yard waste bin with collection occurring on the same day as trash pickup. To sign up, visit southbendin.gov/yardwaste or call 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

Contaminated yard waste can cause the entire truckload to be sent to the landfill instead of being processed into compost or mulch. If contamination is found, a warning will be issued. Continued contamination may result in a fee of $10 to $20, which will appear on your next utility bill.

Yard waste collected is converted into 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.

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