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Organic Waste

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Organic Waste

 

Chipping and Brush 

Residents of the Garbage District may place chipping curbside on their bulk day. Depending on your street, that is the first, second, third or fourth Wednesday of every month. Please refer to the  Street Index  for your bulk day.

In general, brush put out for the chipper is collected once per month, although we attempt to make additional collections as time permits. Brush should be placed at curbside on your bulk day and will be collected by Friday of that week depending on the volume out for that area. Your bulk Wednesday is the beginning date for your area, not necessarily the date on which the chipper will be on your street. It may take 2 or 3 days to complete the entire route depending on the volume of chipping for that month. Once the chipper completes operations on your particular street, it will not return until the following month. Therefore, please have material curbside by 7 a.m. on the start date for your area.

Due to the nature of the work and the amount other residents have placed curbside, it is difficult to predict the exact date for your individual street. To determine if the chipper has already been through an area, residents may call (609) 443-4000, ext.415.  Residents who use contractors should require them to remove all the material/debris. Only chipping originating from a resident will be collected. Contractors may not deposit waste from another location at the curb.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 
The Township's chipping equipment will take limbs or branches from ½" to 6" in diameter and any length. It is no longer required to cut chipping into short lengths. Chipping should be left as long as possible. This will save residents extra work and collection crews’ time when collecting the chipping. 

Please be reminded of some points to assist us in providing chipping service:

  • Chipping should be left in long straight pieces  . There is no maximum length.
  • Chipping should be placed between the sidewalk and curb.  Not  on sidewalks or roadways.
  • Chipping should be placed with the  butt (thickest) end to the left  when observed from the road looking toward your home. Piles should be placed with  branches laid parallel  and not tangled in heaps.
  • Vines, briars, thorns and other vegetative waste with stem size less than 1/2" in diameter or less than 3' in length should be tied and bundled and placed out with household trash.  Do not mix any hazardous vegetation such as poison ivy or fire thorns with your chipping.  These may be bagged and put with household trash.
  • Roots, brush with heavy dirt, stumps, wood over 6" in diameter and sawn wood of any kind are for bulk pick-up. They must be stacked  separate from chipping  and packaged in single pieces cut to weights of under 50 pounds or tied in  bundles of under 50 pounds. 
  • Chipping may not be mixed with any other type of trash, leaves, or bulk.
  • Do  not block  fire hydrants or sidewalks with chipping materials.
  • Public Works   will not pick-up   any chipping that is improperly put at curbside or contains non-chipping items. All residents should advise contractors that they are responsible to comply with Township schedules for collection. 
  • Only residential chipping will be collected. Residents who use contractors must require their contractors to remove the material themselves. Contractors may not deposit chipping at the curb.

Wood Chips Available

Any Township resident interesting in obtaining wood chips may contact our office at (609) 443-4000, ext. 415. Chips are delivered within the Township by the truck load only. Smaller quantities may be picked up at the Township Public Works facility. There is no charge for chips and distribution is made on a first come first served basis.

Grass Disposal

One of the most costly items for the Township to dispose of is grass clippings. The tonnage that is landfilled each day by the Garbage District and the resulting cost increase dramatically when grass is added to the solid waste collection. East Windsor encourages every resident to use alternative disposal methods for grass clippings. The alternatives include composting and the use of mulching mowers. In most cases, lawn contractors will remove the clippings if requested.

Alternatively, residents of the garbage district may put grass clippings in bags for collection on their regular garbage day.  Please use this method of disposal only as a last resort.  If you must put grass clippings at the curb for collection, place the grass clippings in plastic bags or containers that weigh no more than 50 pounds. Your cooperation in packaging your clippings in smaller bags will make collection proceed more efficiently and safely. Bags should be left open and placed on the curb,  not in the street.  Bags of grass left in the street can block heavy summer rains from reaching the storm drains and cause localized flooding of streets.

 Leaf Collection

The Township leaf collection program uses leaf vacuums pulled by trucks housing large volume boxes for collection. The leaf vacuum will come by each house one time within each scheduled pass. As seen from the above schedule, each Area is scheduled for four passes. PLEASE be reminded that once the leaf vacuum has passed your house, in order to keep to the schedule the Township cannot accommodate requests for returns until the next scheduled pass. Cooperation from every resident is essential for the program’s success.

 

Please follow these other guidelines, suggestions and tips to help us provide the best service possible:

 

  • Place your leaves in wind‑rows (long, narrow, neat piles) curbside by the starting dates for your area. This is the preferred way of placing your leaves for collection. Residents may place leaves curbside in open bags, but this is not preferred. Bagged leaves will be collected at the same time and schedule as vacuum collection. No separate collection will be done for bagged leaves.

 

  • No twigs, branches, trash, or other debris are to be in leaf wind‑rows. These items must be removed from your leaves prior to our vacuum arrival. These materials damage our vacuums creating equipment downtime which hampers our ability to keep to the schedule. If we find these materials in your leaves, your wind‑rows will be left and we will not return until the next pass. At the next pass, your wind‑rows will still need to be clear of these materials.

 

  • Do not park vehicles in front of leaf wind‑rows. If we cannot reach your leaves we cannot vacuum them! 

 

  • If you use a contractor they need to be instructed on these guidelines or to take the leaves with them.

 

  • Once the final scheduled pass has been completed on your street, residents must bag all remaining leaves and place them curbside in open bags. If you are unsure if the final pass has been completed on your street, please call Public Works at (609) 443-4000, ext. 415 for information.

 

**Please refer to the current Garbage District Schedule for your leaf collection dates**