YardWaste Guide

Please call SOCRRA at 248-288-5150 for more information.

What is Yard Waste?
Yard Waste includes: grass clippings, leaves, spent flowers & garden plants, weeds, pine needles, pine cones, acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, apples, Halloween pumpkins, vines, twigs, branches and other woody material up to 2" in diameter. (Put woody yard waste between two inch (2") and five inches (5") in diameter with regular refuse. Refer to brush clipping guidelines.)

How do I prepare yard waste for collection?
Yard waste may be placed in 32-gallon trash cans, clearly labeled with a “yard waste” decal, and facing the street so it can be easily spotted for pickup. Free Yard waste decals are available at the DPS office on Campbell Rd and at City Hall. Yard waste may also be placed in a 30-gallon paper yard waste bag, available at most hardware stores. Containers and bags cannot weigh more than 50 pounds each. Plastic bags are NOT acceptable.

Why must I separate these items?
Yard waste is banned from disposal in Michigan landfills. SOCRRA converts yard waste into compost, a useful nutrient rich soil amendment.

What about brush and branches larger than twigs?
Refer to brush clipping guidelines or below under “What is woody material?".

Is yard waste collected year-round?
No, weekly curbside collection is provided from April through mid-December.

What if I have yard waste when collection isn’t provided?
Royal Oak residents can bring up to 10 yard waste bags per day to the SOCRRA Transfer Station at 995 Coolidge in Troy at no charge from mid-December through March. No plastic bags. Please call SOCRRA at 248-288-5150 for more information.

Acceptable Containers: 20 to 32 gallon trash cans with a "yard waste" bumper sticker decal, or paper landscape bags (no decal on bags). Plastic bags are not allowed.

Additional Recycling Program Information can be found at SOCRRA: www.socrra.org

What is woody material?
Residents must keep woody materials larger than 2" in diameter out of their separated yard waste. Woody materials do not decompose as fast as grass, leaves and the other "soft" materials and must be screened out of finished compost and landfilled, adding unnecessary costs to the program.

What is it? - Woody materials include: Tree branches, woody shrubs, bushes, and hedges.

How do I dispose of it? Put woody material between 2" and 5" in diameter with the regular refuse and set at curb on trash day. Tie brush securely into bundles up to 4' long X 15" diameter, not weighing more than 40 pounds, and set at curb. Logs over 5" in diameter must be cut to 2 foot lengths or less, put into bundles weighing less than 40 pounds, and set at curb.

To have brush between 1"-6" in diameter and between 4'-12' lengths chipped at the curb, call a private contractor or the City's recommended contractor for details and costs. The City's recommended contractor is:

J H Hart
586-795-5581

How to Reduce Yard Waste

Grasscycling (Let clippings fall):

Use a mulching mower or retrofit your current mower with a mulching blade kit and let clips fall back into the lawn.

• Adds nitrogen from clippings to the soil
• Cuts fertilizer use by 30% or more.

Cut only 1/3 of grass blade at a time to promote root growth and shade out weeds. Deep roots help plants resist
drought and disease.

Other Options

• Add low-maintenance plant beds and groundcovers, slow-growth bushes, decks, walkways and borders to your yard to reduce lawn area.
• Use Shredded leaves and grass clippings as mulches to control weeds, conserve moisture and reduce soil erosion:
  
  • place 1" to 2" layer on wet newspaper between vegetable/flower rows
  • sprinkle 1" layer around bushes, tree base
  • work into garden soil
• Add shredded leaves and grass to your compost pile.
• Shred leaves into lawn with mulching mower; adds nutrients and does not hurt the lawn.

Home Composting Transform your yard waste into humus-rich compost. Use compost in the garden, with potted plants, as a topdressing for lawns, or as mulch around trees and shrubs.
Compost Benefits Improves soil structure Encourages root growth Aerates & adds nutrients to the soil Ideal Ratio 50% Leaves (carbon) 25% Grass (nitrogen) 25% Soil + Water
For free fact sheets on grasscycling, composting, and other yard waste reduction and healthy lawn and garden tips, call or write: SOCRRA, 3910 W. Webster Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073 (248) 288-5150. Questions? Call (248)246-3300. You can also check here for information on Backyard Composting. Thank You!