Kaiserslautern will provide weekend green waste collection containers starting Oct. 5, urging residents to dispose of compostable garden waste properly. (Kaiserslautern City Management)

With fall gardening ramping up, Kaiserslautern city maintenance crews will set up green waste containers across the city on weekends starting Oct. 5, city officials said. 

The free initiative, aimed at helping residents dispose of garden waste such as hedge trimmings, grass clippings and leaves, will run through four weekends in October, the city said in a Thursday statement.

The collected green waste will be transported to the ZAK Biomass Center, where it will be shredded, sorted and composted. Fine waste will be processed into compost for sale as potting soil, while woodier material will be used as biofuel.

“Impurities such as plastic bags, flower pots, wire, stones and fastening cords must not be placed in the containers under any circumstances,” said Matthias Thomas, a spokesperson for the city of Kaiserslautern. “This waste can end up as foreign substances in the compost. These impurities therefore jeopardize the quality of compost obtained from green waste.”

Containers filled with noncompostable waste will be immediately removed from the program, and the contents may need to be disposed of as residual waste, which could result in additional costs to the public, officials said.

Green waste dropoff is also available year-round at local recycling centers. For container locations and times, visit the Stadtbildpflege Kaiserslautern website or app.