Since then, the City Council has authorized a study on trash pickup that would look at the city’s operations and needs in terms of yard waste, examining alternate ways of handling yard waste and the environmental and financial effects. The contractor will also survey Omahans about what they want from waste pickup.

A spokeswoman for the mayor said officials are still deciding what limits should be put on the amount of waste that participants in the pilot program can set out. Omahans can now set out an unlimited amount of yard waste and up to five 32-gallon containers of trash.

Before last year, trash and yard waste were collected together from November to April, then collected separately through the summer.

The yard waste was taken to the Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it was turned into the compost product Oma-Gro.

Last year Stothert announced that the city’s contractor, Waste Management, no longer would pick up yard waste separately, instead collecting trash and yard waste together and dumping both into the landfill.

She said that was a temporary measure designed to alleviate delays in picking up yard waste.