Too Many Leaves? Napa Valley’s Fall Cleanup Options |
Extra pickups, bags, and cart options vary by waste provider from American Canyon to Calistoga |
The leaves look lovely on the trees.
Once they fill the yard and overflow the compost cart, the question becomes a little more practical: who will take the extras?
Across Napa Valley, the answer depends on your waste provider.
Here’s where to start before buying bags or putting a pile beside the curb.
Napa Recycling: Napa and southern unincorporated areas
Napa Recycling’s yard-waste service includes two free extra pickups per year for yard trimmings in certified compostable bags.
Call 707-255-5200 ahead of time; collection takes place on your regular service day.
Residential customers can collect one box of compostable bags from the Napa office at 598 Lincoln Avenue.
The provider also includes up to two compost carts for City of Napa customers and up to four for Napa County Recycling & Waste Services customers, with additional carts available for a charge.
Ask which arrangement applies to your address.
Use your designated compost cart for leaves; don’t leave loose piles outside it.
Upper Valley Disposal: Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga, and northern unincorporated areas
For Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling customers, leaves go in the green compost cart.
If you have more than fits, call 707-963-7988 or contact the office at least one business day before collection so a work order can be created.
Extra bags carry a charge.
The published limit is three bags, each no larger than 32 gallons and no heavier than 30 pounds.
Use paper yard-waste bags or BPI-certified compostable plastic bags; ordinary plastic bags are handled as garbage.
Keep the cart lid closed and don’t compact the contents so tightly that they cannot empty.
Recology: American Canyon
American Canyon residents can put leaves in the green organics cart collected by Recology American Canyon.
For a larger cleanup, call 707-552-3110 to ask about additional cart capacity, extra collection, or a temporary container and the applicable charges.
Arrange the service before setting out overflow.
One important difference: Recology’s American Canyon sorting rules reject compostable plastics, including BPI-certified bags.
A bag accepted by another valley provider may therefore be wrong for this cart.
Keep leaves out of gutters
Street sweeping is not a substitute for collecting yard leaves.
Leaves washed into drains can contribute to flooding, so keep them out of streets and gutters.
City of Napa residents can check the street-sweeping page for the enhanced leaf-season schedule and move parked cars for the sweeper.
For loads too large for curbside service, the Napa Recycling & Composting Facility accepts separated yard trimmings for a fee at 820 Levitin Way, American Canyon.
Outside city limits, check the county’s provider directory and service-area map rather than relying on your mailing address; some outlying areas use other haulers. |
16 Comments
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Two carts included for city customers is helpful. I might ask about another one, the leaves keep coming long after the first pickup.
Moving the cars for the leaf-season sweeper is easy to forget. We got a reminder on our block last fall and it really helped.
Taking a big load to the compost facility sounds like a lot of work, but probably better than leaving a pile on the curb.
Nora P.It is a bit of a trip, but at least the facility takes the separated yard waste. Calling first to check the curbside options might save you the drive.
I use paper bags in American Canyon and they work fine. Important difference with the BPI bags, easy to assume every hauler accepts them.
Frank W.Good point. Paper bags seem like the safest choice in American Canyon, since the compostable plastic rules vary by hauler.
Extra bags costing money in Upper Valley is a bit frustrating, but at least the limit is clear. I'll call ahead this time.
We tried stuffing the cart too full last year and half of it stayed behind. Keeping the lid closed and not packing it down is good advice.
Paul D.Same thing happened at our place. A little less in the cart makes a big difference when they empty it.
Free bags from the Napa office is a nice touch. I didn't know they had those, might save me a trip to the store.
Leaves in the gutters are a real problem on our street when it rains. Please don't count on the sweeper to take care of your yard pile.
I live outside Napa and my mailing address had me guessing which company handles our trash. Checking the county map first makes sense.
The three bag limit in St. Helena is useful to know. I would have put out more and probably had to bring them back in.
I thought the green bags were all the same. Glad I saw that American Canyon doesn't take the compostable plastic ones.
I've already filled my compost cart and the trees are still dropping leaves. Good to know Napa has two extra pickups, I need to call before my service day.
Maria G.Hope you get through before pickup day. The leaves always seem to keep coming after the cart is full.