The Water Pollution Control Utility operates the Yard and Garden Center at 2000 West Eighth Street.  The goal is to beneficially reuse brush, leaves and grass via the processes below.

Compost management procedures implemented at the site, including controls for dust, odors, and noise:

Tipping – All trucks are documented upon entry of the site.  A designation will be made as to the type of material being tipped.  We do not accept loads containing treated timbers, tree stumps, trash, rocks, plastic or painted wood.  The truck will be directed to the appropriate drop area:

Brush – The brush is collected and condensed for grinding.  Any trash is removed and properly disposed.

Chips – The chips are piled and any round wood is removed.  The chips are then ground and combined with the ground brush.

Leaves and grass – leaves and grass are combined and immediately set into windrows.  They are then capped with a layer of leaves to absorb the moisture and eliminate any odor problem.

Material processing – our goal is to produce quality products, separating the material is key.  We are constructing windrows that are 4’ X 14’ as recommended by the manufacturer of the windrow turner we own.  The leaves and the grass will be windowed together, turned and aerated as soon as possible after construction.  The internal temperatures will be regularly monitored to achieve a consistent 140º to 150º F. for at least two to three weeks.  Regular turning will be done to maintain these temperatures.  This thermophilic curing will assure that all weed seeds and plant pathogens have been killed and all legal pesticides have been broken down to inactive compounds.  The compost is stable when temperatures no longer show significant rise after turning.  The material will then be finish screened to remove any previously unseen debris and to create a fine textured, consistent product. 

The brush will be ground and include the round wood that is removed from the chips.  This ground material will be mixed with the chips and set in the same size windrow as the leaves mentioned above.  This chip material will be turned on a regular basis to achieve thermophilic temperatures to kill week seeds and vectors.  After curing, the chip material will be screened to produce a fine, organic chip mulch.  The rejects will then be ground for a more coarse textured product.