GRASS VALLEY, Calif. May 29, 2019 – Preliminary totals for the free green waste drop off events in western Nevada County are in and the results are amazing.
So far, 455 tons have been tallied and 15 containers filled with brush, leaves, pine needles, weeds and tree limbs at the La Barr, Owl Creek and LWW collection sites still have to be added to the total.
Jamie Jones, the Executive Director of the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, fully expects to hit the 500-ton mark when at the end of the site collections – a whopping 1 million pounds of fuel removed from the landscape.
During four weekends in May, volunteers ran the collection sites throughout western Nevada County. The events were coordinated by the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County in collaboration with the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services and Waste Management.
Each weekend, the collection sites were extremely busy, residents participated in large numbers by hauling brush in cars, trucks and trailers. Each weekend, the operations was scaled up with more containers being added and a constant stream of Waste Management trucks picking up full containers and rotating in empty ones.
The participation by the community deserves special recognition. The heightened awareness of the fire danger prompted many people to go the extra mile and cut the brush, stuff leaves and pine needles in bags and haul the green waste to the collection sites. Much of the brush would have been burned, or left on site – now it will be chipped and trucked to a co-generation facility. Not only did locals clear the equivalent of close to 200 acres, but the air quality was not impacted by numerous burn piles.
Jones is already planning for next year: “While our program has ended for this spring in western Nevada County, we fully expect to bring it back to our residents. Stay tuned for details for next year’s event. As a friendly reminder to our community, please do not dump at any locations outside of our organized event as it is a violation to illegally dump at these sites.”
Thanks to the volunteers staffing the drop off sites and collected information, directed traffic and helped make the event a true community success.
Other ways to handle your green waste: