By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Another heavy trash collection is over, yard waste pickups are underway, and Decatur’s mulch site won’t be ready for another couple of weeks.
That information was offered up by Jeremy Gilbert, the city’s operations manager, at the latest meeting of city council.
The collection of yard waste is an annual service provided by the city from spring through early fall. The items are picked up on the same schedule as the weekly trash/garbage collection.
Local residents using the service are asked to place their yard waste in a container or bag along the curb; the city-supplied receptacles for recycling and trash should not be used.
The gathering of the yard waste has changed, Gilbert said, due to population growth in the city. An old garbage truck is now being used. “So don’t be alarmed if a garbage truck stops at your house,” Gilbert said. “It’s (yard waste) still going to go to the compose site and still going to be recycled.”
The recent spring collection of heavy trash went well, Gilbert told council, with the number of items set out “about average.”
One difference from previous such collections, however, was the number of mattresses taken – “lots of them,” Gilbert said.
The second and final heavy trash collection of this year will be held in late summer or early fall.
In regards to the city is receiving calls asking when its mulch site will be available., Gilbert said it should be around the first of May.
The free mulch is made available by the city at the compost site off Jackson St., just north of Riverside Center.