Yard and Wood Waste: Collection and Processing
The County of Santa Cruz contracts with Green Waste Recovery to collect curbside yard trimmings and wood waste in green carts. Only “clean green” yard trimmings and unpainted, untreated wood are accepted, and there are size limitations. Green cart service is included in the services offered to cart collection customers at no additional cost, and to bin service customers for a modest fee. Material collected is transported to processing sites at Santa Cruz County’s Buena Vista Landfill and Ben Lomond Transfer Station.
Private haulers, including homeowners, landscapers, construction professionals and others also deliver yard trimmings and wood waste to the County processing sites in accordance with the strict acceptance policy.
From collected materials, soil products are produced primarily from yard trimmings, and bio-fuel primarily from wood waste.
In 2009, over 42,000 tons of yard trimmings and wood waste were received at Santa Cruz County’s Buena Vista Landfill and Ben Lomond Transfer Station. Collection in curbside green carts totaled 14,000 tons and 28,000 tons were brought in by private haulers. From this, about 26,000 tons of mulch and compost feedstock and 16,000 tons of biofuel were produced.