SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The City of South Bend announced annual yard waste collection returns beginning on March 30, running through the first week of December.

The program includes weekly pickup of yard waste for $6 per month during the season.

New customers receive a 48 or 96-gallon yard waste bin with collection on the same day as trash pickup.

You can sign up on the city's website or by calling 311.

Residents, who already have a yard waste bin and received service last year, do not need to sign up again.

To reduce contamination, city officials ask residents to only put the following in their bins:

• Grass clippings
• Leaves or weeds
• Twigs or prunings

Items not allowed in yard waste bins:

• Animal waste
• Dirt and rocks
• Food waste
• Household trash
• Lumber and large tree limbs
• Oils, liquids and other hazardous waste
• Plastic bags and recycling

Officials warn that contaminated yard waste can cause an entire truckload to be sent to the landfill instead of being processed into compost or mulch.

If contamination is found, city officials say a warning will be issued. Continued contamination may result in a fee of $10 to $20, which will appear on your next utility bill.

Once collected yard waste is converted into compost and mulch, it is available free of charge if self-loading at an area outside the City’s Organic Resources facility at 4340 Trade Dr.