Photo: RDCO

Curbside yard waste pick up across the Central Okanagan begins again the week of March 3.

Those residents who receive regular curbside garbage and recycling collection can also have yard waste picked up every two weeks until the end of December using special yard waste carts.

About 15,000 tonnes of yard waste collected each year is composted and used as a valuable soil enhancer, GlenGrow.

Carts should be put out by 7 a.m. on the morning of your regular garbage day. Residents are reminded to loosen any frozen contents and not to overload the carts.

“It’s important to open the lid and check the contents of your waste cart before you put it out for the first time,” says solid waste services supervisor Cynthia Coates.

“Make sure to remove anything that may have landed in there by mistake over the winter months.

“Items such as flower pots, garbage, plastic bags of any kind, kitchen/food scraps, pet waste, rocks, sod and recycling should be removed as they could damage equipment or compromise the composting process.”

The following items are accepted within yard waste carts:

• Leaves, tree needles
• Branches, prunings (up to 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter and less than one meter (3 feet) in length)
• Wood chips, bark
• Garden plants
• Fruit droppings
• Grass clippings

Click here for additional yard waste carts and collection options and here to determine collection weeks.