New rules for yard waste

Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, yard waste will be banned from disposal in Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s (DSWA) Kent and Sussex landfills near Sandtown and Georgetown. The ban goes into effect as part of a DNREC permit condition for landfill expansion and to encourage the recycling of the estimated 30,000 tons of yard waste deposited each year in the Kent and Sussex landfills.

Southern New Castle County (below the C&D Canal), Kent and Sussex County residents whose trash is taken to the DSWA landfills will need to seek other options for disposal of yard waste in 2011.

Over the next few weeks, officials said, municipal and private waste haulers will be contacting southern New Castle County, Kent and Sussex County residents regarding yard waste pick-up services being offered.

A list of private haulers and yard waste disposal sites can be found on DNREC’s Web site, at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yard waste/Pages/Default.aspx.

Additional fees may apply for yard waste pick-up and disposal, and DNREC is encouraging southern New Castle County, Kent and Sussex County residents to consider all the services available for managing yard waste.

DSWA has created a separate area for yard waste drop-off adjacent to the southern New Castle County Pine Tree Corners Transfer Station and the Kent and Sussex landfills, transfer stations and collection stations, where yard waste will be recycled into mulch and compost.

Southern New Castle County, Kent and Sussex County residents can drop off yard waste at these yard waste drop-off areas for the standard DSWA tipping fee. For more information on DSWA services, visit www.dswa.com.

DNREC’s Web site, at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yardwaste/Pages/Default.aspx, includes information on the options available to homeowners and businesses for managing yard waste on their properties. They include:

• Compost or mulch on your own property, including grass-cycling and using a mulching lawnmower.
• Haul it yourself to a commercial facility that accepts yard waste.
• Have someone else handle your yard waste.
• Contact your waste hauler.
• Contact a landscaping/lawn service.
• Contact a local recycler.
• Develop a community-wide solution by creating your town or community’s own yard waste site.

If a community organization would like to meet with DNREC and the DSWA to discuss yard waste disposal options, they should contact Jim Short at DNREC at (302) 739-9403 or Michael Parkowski at DSWA at (302) 739-5361.