Forget the big, plastic bags for yard waste. Charlotte is making changes this summer.

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Charlotte residents will no longer be able to put yard waste in plastic bags for collection beginning this summer, the city announced Wednesday.

To get yard waste — leaves, grass clippings, small limbs and brush — collected, residents will have to use compostable paper bags or personal reusable containers no larger than 32 gallons. The “paper bag mandate” will begin July 5, the city said.

Why the plastic bag ban?

Environmental impacts of plastic bags, as well as operational efficiency, were factors in this change, according to the city.

“Single-use plastic creates numerous, negative environmental impacts in both its manufacturing and disposal,” the city said. “Conversely, paper bags are extracted from unbleached, recycled brown kraft paper, which saves natural resources and energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

Yard waste tonnage has increased 30 percent since fiscal year 2016, the city said. To improve efficiency, the citystopped accepting yard waste in plastic bags because staff having to debag leaves at curbs increased collection times and made completing routes on collection days more difficult.

Eliminating single-use, plastic yard waste bags will allow Solid Waste Services to decrease the amount of time required to provide service at each home, says the city.

Yard waste collection

Residents also can take yard waste — in paper bags or reusable containers — to one of Mecklenburg County’s four full-service recycling centers. Fees may be charged when disposing at these centers, the city said. Only compostable paper yard waste bags will be accepted because compostable plastic bags “compromise the integrity of the compost product,” the city says.

Paper yard waste bags and reusable 32-gallon containers, which cost about $20-$30, are available at discount, hardware and home improvement stores.

The city will have a limited supply of free paper bags for residents at the Solid Waste Services office, 1105 Otts St., and any of the county’s full-service recycling centers.

Recycling centers in Mecklenburg

Foxhole Recycling Center: 17131 Lancaster Highway, Charlotte

North Mecklenburg Recycling Center: 12300 N. Statesville Road, Huntersville

Hickory Grove Recycling Center: 8007 Pence Road, Charlotte

Compost Central and Recycling Center: 140 Valleydale Road, Charlotte