The Claw makes its first autumnal appearance on Sacramento streets
SACRAMENTO – One of the City of Tree's seasonal bellwethers is back on the streets.
The claw's first day out picking up leaf piles started on Wednesday. It's a specialized tractor with a collection device that picks up and dumps piles of leaves into a garbage truck.
City of Sacramento officials say the claw will make at least seven collections on each street through the end of January. The city says it collects close to 54 million pounds of organic waste during that time.
"It goes to one of our three organics processors and it gets composted also along with all of our food scraps and other organic waste," said Jesa David, a spokesperson for the city's recycling and solid waste department.
Residents are being urged to check the SacRecycle Collection Calendar website to get an estimate of their next collection date.
Officials note that wind, rain, and leaf drop volume will all affect how long it could take for the claw to come by.
According to the city's guidelines, leaf piles cannot be larger than five cubic yards. The piles must also be at least 6' from possible obstructions like cars, boats, and basketball hoops.
"If you can break them down, that's better," David said. "Cut them down. The limbs should be under four feet."
Only yard waste, like leaves and limbs, should be in the piles.