It’s April, and that means the beginning of two things –
street sweeping and yard waste collection.

Street Sweeping

In my house we call it the "Achtungs!"...those trucks that roam the neighborhood blaring wake-up-warnings to move your car to the odd or even side of the street to avoid being tagged and towed.

Check those street signs for the street cleaning parking restrictions before you go to bed! Click here to see the street cleaning schedule.

Remember even if a sweeper has gone by already, do not park before the posted end time; sometimes the street sweepers sneak back and make a second pass.

The Department of Public Works also cleans over 5000 Cambridge catch basins, so there’s a chance they may be doing your street even after the street sweeper has gone by. Keeping the catch basins clear and efficient is integral to keeping local waterways clean.

Street sweepers also remove gunk and junk ingrained in the roads from exhaust fumes, tires, and leaking engine fluids. This helps clean water runoff that ends up in the Charles River and the Alewife Brook.

Yard Waste

Even though you’ve been allowed to blow your leaves since March 15th, you were not allowed to put them out for pickup…until next week. Yard waste collection begins again April 7 and goes through December 12, 2008.
Click here for the collection schedule by neighborhood.

Set out your yard waste after 6pm the night before or by 7am on your regular collection day. If your yard waste is not picked up, call 617-349-4800. Remember, though during holiday weeks, collection is one day later.

And you can’t put out yard waste in plastic bags, it won’t be picked up. Put yard waste in barrels marked with City-issued yard waste stickers (call 617.349.4800 for stickers) or in 30-gallon lawn refuse bags sold in hardware stores. The barrels and bags should be put out separately from trash. Face stickers to the street and do not staple or tape bags. Bundle small twigs and branches with string.

What counts as yard waste?

• Leaves
• Grass
• Plants
• Shrub prunings and twigs (thinner than your thumb and shorter than your arm)

What does not count as yard waste?

• Food
• Soil
• Rocks
• Tree limbs
• Trash

Call a private hauler for tree limbs and large rocks. The City will pick up one bundle of lumber, or three limbs (fatter than your thumb) per week with the trash, if tied in bundles no longer than 3 ft and no larger than 3 ft in diameter.

It’s a jungle out there! Know the regs.