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Comprehensive Review of S olid W aste Collection and Disposal Options v2.1 14 10/22/12  Bundled limbs and twigs, etc. – less than 50 pounds, less than 4 feet in length, and less than 24 inches in diameter;  Loose piles at the curb – brush and twigs less than 3 cubic yards; and,  Larger portable containers for rent from Public Works Department. Small, loose yard waste (i.e., grass clippings, leaves, straw) cannot be managed in loose piles and must be bagged or containerized. No plastic bags are accepted. Large limbs and logs (exceeding 24 inches in diameter or 4-foot lengths), stumps, or land clearing debris are not collected. Specifically, the Town ordinance specifies: “No materials such as trees, logs, stumps, shrubbery or underbrush resulting from land being cleared shall be collected by the town and shall be the responsibility of the contractor or builder. In the event that the contractor or builder fails to remove such material, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property”. While this ordinance is clearly communicated as it pertains to site development activities (i.e., land clearing), it is often open to interpretation as it pertains to smaller scale residential activities (e.g., tree trimming and removal), and Town staff is periodically faced with managing large piles of wood waste and debris. The majority of yard waste collected by the Town is placed by hand into Town compactor trucks; however, large loose piles and larger bundles are picked up using a knuckleboom truck. Christmas trees are characterized as yard waste and similarly collected. Town collections practices are equipped to manage yard waste generated by the typical resident or contracted, residential landscaping or lawn care (i.e., grass clippings and brush trimmings). Typical yard waste quantities collected range between 1 and 6 tons per compactor truck, depending on the season. Yard waste prepared for weekly collection can be as small as a pail of pinecones or as large as a full knuckleboom load. 2.2.1.5 Seasonal Loose Leaf Collection The Town provides seasonal loose leaf collection from mid-October through mid-February each year. Under this program, residents may place loose leaves and pine straw, free of limbs and debris, at the back of the curb for collection. While this program is implemented and managed by a separate Town Department, the Streets Division, and not SWSD, it deserves consideration in this comprehensive evaluation and may provide composting/mulching value should the Town consider implementing its own yard waste program. The Town’s Streets Division crews start at one end of Town and make a complete circuit at least three times during the period from October through February to give all residents the same number of pickups. The length of the collection cycles depends upon the number of leaf piles and the timing of their placement. In FY2011-12, the Town completed six collection cycles by the end of February, collecting a total of 1,249 loads of loose leaves. According to the Town operating record, the program costs range between $15,000 to $50,000 per month when collecting loose leaves depending on the volume of leaves to be collected.