City officials have answered any objections we might have had to the plan, approved by City Council this week, to use rolling carts to collect yard waste. We had worried that the carts would not be big enough to handle leaves in the fall or tree limbs and other large debris.

But city crews will continue to pick up limbs and large stuff from curbs year-round. And they still will collect loose piles of leaves from curbs during leaf season, November through January.

Buying a cart won't be mandatory. Apartment dwellers and others who don't have any yard waste to deal with won't have to buy a cart.

But, starting in September when the carts become available, anyone who now deposits piles of sticks and grass clippings on their curbs for city pickup probably will find it necessary to buy a cart. As of October, small waste no longer will be picked up from curbs.

We wish the city could have found a way to either provide the carts at no charge to customers or to subsidize the cost. But city officials said the public works department could not find money in the budget for that.

However, the carts could save the city -- and taxpayers -- money down the road. Sending crews out with a truck to pick up grass piles and sticks is expensive. Under the new system, the carts will be picked up by automated trucks, like those that pick up trash bins, creating a more efficient and cheaper system.

Using carts also will keep grass, sticks and debris from drifting and clogging storm drains during heavy rain. And unsightly piles won't sit on the street for a week.

Homeowners may also learn to enjoy a wheeled cart they can lug around the yard to pick up debris. That is likely to be easier than hauling bags of grass and stick piles to the street.

A change like this will take some adjustment. But there are many reasons to expect that it will be an improvement over the old system.

We say give it a try.