Questions and Documents

Never sit, climb or stand on your cart. Do not allow children to play on, in or around the cart.

The brown or green cart is for trash and yard waste. It is collected every week.

The blue cart is for recyclable items. It is collected every other week.

The cart's number is on the front of the cart. Carts belong to individual street addresses, not individual customers. If a customer moves, the cart must remain at the assigned address. To verify your cart, call the Customer Call Center at 311. 

Rinse the inside of your cart with water from time to time to keep it clean.

• Place your regular household garbage in the cart. Trucks pick up garbage once a week. Trucks will not pick up any items placed outside the cart on regular collection days.

• You must place the cart in the area next to the curb by 7:30 a.m. for collection.

• Please recycle to save landfill space and ensure that your trash will fit into the cart.

National surveys show that a 96-gallon container is adequate for an average household.  

You may order an additional cart for $10.50 per month and a $11.55 delivery fee. As a reminder, the cart is the property of the City of Corpus Christi and must remain at the address it is issued to. If a resident moves, the cart is to remain at the home. If an additional cart is obtained, the second cart must remain at the home and it will be collected by City collection crews and returned to the main office.

To obtain a second recycling cart, please contact the City's Call Center by dialing 311 for more information on obtaining a second recycling cart. There is no fee for obtaining a second recycling cart.

• The automated system allows the City to collect garbage faster and with less expense. The automated collection vehicle requires a crew of only one driver. Other systems need a crew of three persons.

• Manual collection is labor intensive and puts workers at a high risk for injury. With automation, workers no longer need to load bags into trucks. This reduces job injuries and decreases medical claims paid by the City.

• The City provides durable carts with a close-fitting lid. A cart is equal to three regular garbage cans. The cart is animal-proof. It also has a stay-on lid helps reduce windblown litter. improves the neighborhood's appearance.

• The carts are also easy to roll. Always close the lid first. Use the toe hold at the bottom rear of the cart, grasp the plastic handle and tilt the cart toward you. You can either push or pull the cart.

• Typical household waste.

• We encourage you to use plastic bags for wet garbage.

• Place pet waste in bags to avoid odors.

Get information on what and how to recycle, using the blue cart.

You can use the CC Recycles app on your mobile device or on this website to search items using the Recycling Wizard. The Wizard will tell you how to throw away or recycle various items. Here is a list of some items that should not be thrown away:

• Construction or other materials such as:
  • Sheetrock
  • Roofing material
  • Lumber
  • Fencing
  • Concrete
  • Brick
  • Rocks
  • Stone
  • Dirt
    
    
• Dangerous material, such as:
  • Hot ashes
  • Flammable materials
  • Hazardous materials
  • Asbestos
  • Oil
  • Gas
  • Antifreeze
  • Solvents
  • Brake Fluid
  • Transmission Fluid
  • Batteries
  • Cleaning Solvents
  • Polishes
  • Oven Cleaner
  • Pool Chemicals
  • Paint, Paint Thinner
  • Paint Stripper
  • Spray Paint
  • Weed Killer
  • Pesticides
  • Insecticides
  • Sprays
  • Dusts
  • Poisons
    
    
• Do not place dead animals in garbage carts. Call the Customer Call Center at 311 for proper disposal of dead animals.
  
  
• Do not place anything on top of the cart.

If you are unable to place the cart at the curbside, call the Customer Call Center at 311 for help. 

Remove carts set out for collection no later than midnight on your collection day. (Ordinance, Chapter 21, Article II, Section 21-11 (f) for recycling and Section 21-22 (e) for garbage)

Store the cart in your garage or another location. Make sure to follow your deed restrictions. Be careful not to store the cart close to a furnace, fireplace, grill or any source of excessive heat.

• Place your blue cart next to your green cart, five feet apart.

• Place the cart on the street curb, away from obstacles, like mailboxes, branches, or shrubs.

• Corner houses should place carts on street address, not on the side street.

• On collection days, we ask that you do not park your vehicle at the curb so that the truck can approach the cart(s).

The blue cart is your recycling cart, also called the "smart cart". Visit the Recycling page for more information on what you can recycle.

The brown or green cart is your garbage cart, for garbage and yard waste. Garbage includes food waste, packaging, non-recyclable products found in your home. Yard waste includes:

• Grass clippings
• Weeds
• Leaves
• Mulch
• Small shrubs
• Limbs

If you'd like to use grass clippings to help fertilize your lawn, learn more about Composting.

• Do not remove the cart from the premises. The cart belongs to the City of Corpus Christi and must remain with it's assigned address.

• If you have a damaged cart, please call the Customer Call Center at 311 for a replacement.

• If someone stole your cart, notify the Customer Call Center at 311 for a replacement.

• You may order another cart for $10.50 per month and a $11.55 delivery fee. As a reminder, the cart is the property of the City of Corpus Christi and must remain at it's assigned address. If a resident moves, the cart is to remain at the home. If you have a second cart, it must stay at it's assigned address. City crews will collect the second cart and return it to the main office.

When organic material like leaves and fruit break down, compost is the result. Compost can include the following materials:

• Leaves
• Grass clippings
• Vegetable and fruit scraps
• Wood chips
• Straw
• Small twigs

When these combined materials break down, they form a material that feels like soil. Bacteria, fungi, microbes, and insects can break down yard waste. Microbes need water, air and food to start and continue the break-down process. They receive these nutrients from your yard trimmings.  Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments. It's so good, that you can use it in place of commercial fertilizers.

Compost saves time and money by providing free fertilizer and soil conditioner. The organic materials in the compost help your plants grow by loosening the soil. Looser soil allows for better root penetration. Compost increases microbial activity, creating a healthier environment for plant growth. The texture of compost improves moisture retention in your soil. Improved moisture retention can reduce your water bills. The balance of nutrients in compost help regulate the pH of your soil. Through regular use of compost you can do a lot. You can reduce or end the need for chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. This saves money and it reduces possible contamination of waterways and drinking water.

A good rule of composting is: keep it simple. You can rake your ingredients into a mound. Compost bins are not necessary to make good compost, but they can help.

Make a simple box. You can use chicken wire, wood, hardware cloth, pallets, bricks, or concrete blocks. Any wood that is in contact with the compost will deteriorate and become part of the compost over time. You can also buy barrel composters in either metal or plastic. If you use a barrel, be sure that it wasn't used as a container for a toxic material.

Add leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps as they become available.

1. Bottom layer of twigs, woody brush, plant stalks, straw and leaves, 3-6 inches deep.

2. Mix grass clippings and leaves with egg shells, tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps. Spread this mixture two inches deep.

3. Top layer of soil, 1 inch deep.

Buying "compost starters" or "activators" isn't necessary. Most veteran composters stay away from these products. Fertilizer isn't necessary to activate compost. Old compost, garden soil, blood meal and cow, horse and sheep manure are better choices. Try to garden organically.

The smaller the size of the materials you use, the faster they will compost. Small twigs will break down faster than large twigs, and the same holds true for leaves. If you run a lawn mower through a pile of leaves before adding them to your compost, you will see a quicker breakdown. This especially true for live oak leaves and many others with waxy surfaces. Use a chipper or shredder for larger woody material. Either rent one or go in with a neighbor to buy one. You don't need to add worms or bugs, they'll come naturally to let you know everything is working fine.

Avoid meat, fish, bones, dairy foods, oils, grease and fatty foods. These items can disrupt the decomposition that is part of composting. Even worse, they can cause odors and attract rodents. Avoid pet feces or used kitty litter. They harbor bacteria, germs, viruses and parasites. Use care with fireplace ashes. If you know you have burned only wood, you can add your fireplace ashes. Just know that adding ashes to your compost and will make it more alkaline. Fireplace ashes that contain burned paper or pressed logs should not go in your compost. Do not add sawdust or chips from painted, treated or pressurized wood. Chemicals used to preserve the wood can contaminate your compost and your garden. Avoid weeds that have gone to seed or weeds that spread by runners. Avoid diseased or insect-infested plants.

If the compost has a bad odor, it may be:

1. Too wet. Turn it and add dry material.

2. A function of inputs, like too much grass. Turn it and add leaves.

3. Due to lack of air. Turn it.

If the center of the pile is dry, moisten materials while turning the pile. It should be moist but not soggy.

If the compost is warm and wet in the middle but nowhere else, collect more material. Then mix the old ingredients into a new pile. 

If the compost is damp and sweet-smelling but still will not heat up, mix in a nitrogen source. You can use fresh manure or bloodmeal.

Flies are not welcome visitors to compost. Although the larval stages of flies won't hurt your compost, the adult flies are nuisances. The easiest prevention is to bury any food scraps you wish to compost. If you have a problem with flies, it's a good idea to keep a pile of leaves handy to top off your compost.

Leave it a lawn. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service created a program called "Don't Bag It". "Don't Bag It" aims to keep grass clippings out to landfills. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn returns valuable nutrients to the soil. It also reduces the need for fertilizer and watering. As an added bonus, leaving grass clippings is easier than bagging and saves space in the landfill! "Don't Bag It" is a combination of common-sense watering, mowing and fertilizing. The frequency of watering and mowing will depend on the type of grass in your yard.

Mulch is any organic material that you can spread over the surface of the soil. This can including wood chips, grass clippings, leaves and compost. Mulching is one of the cheapest water conservation techniques known. A layer of mulch locks in moisture and reduces soil temperatures. It even reduces a plants' need for water. Mulch keeps down weeds by blocking their sunlight. Mulch serves as an anti-freeze for plants in winter. It does this by helping to maintain a constant soil temperature.

The J. C. Elliott Transfer Station offers free mulch Monday thru Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You can spread grass clippings in thin layers over gardens and flower beds. You can mix grass with leaves or wood chips and spread in a thicker layer. Avoid layers of grass more than one inch thick, for they can keep water from your plants. You can spread leaves and wood chips as mulch up to several inches thick. This material will settle and decompose, enriching the soil. You can spread leaves as they fall or bag them and stored them for later use.

Find a well-draining spot out of direct sunlight. Start with a layer of coarse material, like twigs, straw and leaves. Add a layer of the following materials:

• Grass clippings
• Leaves
• Egg shells
• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags
• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Water
• Soil
• Old compost (if available)

When you add food waste to your compost pile, always bury it. This is to decrease the likelihood of attracting rodents or flies. Add more leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps as they become available. Turn the mixture on a regular basis to provide spaces for air to circulate. Be sure it stays moist - but not soggy.

For best results try to build you pile so that it's at least three feet wide and three feet deep. If it's smaller, you'll still get compost, but it will take longer. Your compost will naturally heat up and decrease in volume as it breaks down.