Yard Debris Collection and Recycling

Published: 8/18/2004

The collection and recycling of yard debris is one of the largest services we offer our residents. In providing this program, we recognize that the care and upkeep of your lawns and property is important to you and we have tried to design our yard debris program accordingly.

As many of you may recall, before becoming Supervisor, I was the Commissioner of Public Works for the Town. I am proud of the fact that as the Commissioner of Public Works, we accomplished 100% recycling of our yard debris materials beginning in 1990, one of the first communities in Monroe County to do so.

One simple thing we did to help meet the goal of recycling yard debris was to introduce the paper yard debris bags, which was done in partnership with the Town of Brighton. This allowed material to be placed in compost piles since the paper bags were biodegradable whereas prior practice of using plastic bags did not.

One of the most humorous anecdotes in our yard debris history dates back to March of 1991. I proposed to the Town Board that we could begin charging for the recycled yard debris materials since they were of good quality and appeared to be in demand. One month later we experienced an ice storm after which there was so much yard debris material that we couldn't give it away.

The yard debris service is offered from April to December each year. During this period there are four types of collection that occur including spring cleanup, bagged or containerized grass, weed and cuttings, brush and branches and the fall leaf collection. The budget for this year's service is over $766,000.

The spring cleanup occurs in April. During this time residents can rake thatch, leaves and other materials to the curb and the town will pick them up loose. We recognize that during this time of year there is usually a lot of material coming out of the yards. Materials can be put in bags or containers but we recognize that the volume in most cases makes it difficult to do so. We have found that most properties are cleaned up by the end of April and we can then switch to our other collections.

Beginning in May, grass, weeds and cuttings must be placed in paper bags or reusable containers for pickup. This is a contracted service budgeted for the collection of 2,100 tons annually at a cost of $268,000. Typically we see heavy collection in the early part of the year and then the amount of debris tapers off as we get into August and September. Given the rain we have had this year we have not seen a real decline. This material is taken to a private landfill where it is composted.

From April to the end of October we also pick up brush and branches. Over the course of this period we collect over 3,800 truckloads of material. This material is hauled to the Highway Department or other sites. There it is processed through a large chipping machine that grinds the material into mulch, which is offered to residents and landscaping companies for reuse. The cost of collection of this material is around $163,00 annually and the chipping cost ranges around $105,00 for a total cost of $268,000.

Beginning in November, we focus on the collection of leaves. Typically we see the soft wood trees loose their leave before Thanksgiving and the hard wood trees after that. The fall leaf collection can range from 8 to 12 weeks during which we collect over 1,500 truckloads of material. The cost of this service is budgeted at $230,000, which is heavily dependent on overtime to collect the materials in the short season. Depending on weather conditions, collection is accomplished through the use of leaf vacuums machines or front-end loaders. The leaves are composted each year and then made available to residents and landscaping companies. This is a product that is typically in high demand due to its quality.

It is impressive to see how much yard debris material is collected and processed each year. In addition, we have weathered the 1991 Ice Storm, the 1998 Wind Storm and the 2003 Ice Storm all of which resulted in large quantities of damaged tree materials. In the last Ice Storm we were able to arrange for over 27,000 cubic yards of chipped materials to be hauled to a landfill where it was used as a cover material thus avoiding any disposal charges.

The men and women of our Highway Department take pride in the delivery of this service. My thanks go out to them for the great job they do each and every day.

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