Too Much Brush Not Enough Room at Recycling Center
The Fayette County Recycling Center has too much brush and mulch and not enough room. Commissioners Court voted to raise the price for dumping commercial-size loads of brush in an effort to alleviate the problem.
Recycling Center Manager Paul Zapalac proposed the change, along with a few new rules.
Zapalac said the County began accepting brush as a service to residents who needed a place to go with leaves and limbs. Now, he said, commercial landscape and clearing contractors often show up to the Recycling Center with large loads of material. In addition, Zapalac said he believes some of the material comes from out of the County due to low rates charged by the Recycling Center.
The County currently charges $5 to dump a truck or small trailer load, $15 for loads on trailers eight to 16 feet long.
“That’s the majority of what our Fayette County residents bring in, and I propose that it stays the same,” Zapalac said.
The County currently charges $35 for loads on trailers larger than 16 feet long. Zapalac proposed changing that rate to $150. He said other disposal centers charge anywhere from $90 to $150 for such large loads.
“If we lose a few people, we don’t want that size of material anyway,” Zapalac said.
Zapalac proposed a rule that would require anyone dumping to show proof of county residence. The rule would allow commercial contractors working for county residents to dump at the yard. They would have to show proof of their client’s residency.
In addition, Zapalac proposed a rule limiting the size of logs to 16 inches in diameter by eight feet long. He said the company that the County hires to grind the material into mulch cannot handle logs much larger.
“One person brought in a whole tree – rootball, dirt and all,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.
“We have some chunks we couldn’t get rid of, and they’re in the back decaying,” Zapalac said.
The County cannot burn logs at the brush yard due to concerns about methane gas – the yard sits on a former garbage landfill.
“We either limit the amount that we’re taking or we’ll eventually have to shut down the yard,” Zapalac said.
The County charges just $5 to pick up a truck load of mulch – a very cheap option for residents doing garden and landscape work.