Yard Waste

COMPOSTING, ONE OF the more politically palatable and environmentally sound waste disposal methods, is in danger of becoming a dirty word as a result of troubles at a month-old regional yard waste disposal operation just over the Anne Arundel border in Howard County. Officials in Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties need to pressure the Maryland Environmental Service, which manages the facility, to fix them promptly -- not just for the sake of nearby residents, but also to pre-empt thoughtless opposition to all forms of composting at a time when local governments need alternatives to landfills and incineration.

Starting Monday, Howard County highway crews will be collecting storm debris left at curbside along the 900 miles of county roads, and regular yard waste recycling collections for bundled materials will be extended through Feb. 5, County Executive James N. Robey announced yesterday.Residents are asked to place broken branches of up to 4 inches in diameter and other storm-related debris at curbside for pickup by highway crews during a one-time sweep. County officials suggest patience, because it will take time for the trucks to get to every neighborhood.

For several weeks, Eastern Waste Industries has been taking advantage of the county's indecision on yard waste by offering to collect grass, shrubs, leaves and prunings for individual municipalities.The company has approached at least two towns about collecting and transporting yard waste to the county landfill for a flat fee and the purchase of fluorescent stickers to identify each bag of vegetation.The county commissioners are still trying to decide how to handle yard waste and whether and how much to charge to process it at the county landfill.

Harford County considers its 4-year-old yard waste recycling program a huge success. Residents are jam-packing containers at the six county collection sites so much that the bins must be emptied every day -- and the one in Fallston is emptied up to four times daily.The county turns the yard waste into mulch or compost, which is sold for $7 and $6 per cubic yard, respectively, said Joseph P. Rutherford, superintendent of solid waste."We sell out of mulch and compost most Saturdays. Some Saturdays we have had 150 pickup trucks here to buy mulch.

New Windsor Mayor Jack A. Gullo Jr. discussed an idea for a joint composting project with other Carroll mayors yesterday during an informal meeting.While the other mayors were encouraging, he said, many were unsure whether the county would go along.Nonetheless, Mr. Gullo said he plans to draft a proposal that the county will find acceptable.The New Windsor Town Council voted Wednesday to scrap the idea of designing a town facility to compost yard waste.The council decided instead to let Mayor Gullo investigate buying a storage unit for grass clippings and other yard waste and contracting to have the material taken to the Northern Landfill for possible composting.

Fire marshal investigating weekend camper trailer blazeA fire destroyed a 30-foot camper trailer on Wakefield Valley Road near New Windsor yesterday."The structure was fully involved, when firefighters arrived," said Dave Nelson, a dispatcher at the Emergency Operations Center. "The trailer was completely destroyed."New Windsor, Union Bridge and Westminster volunteer companies responded to the 6:17 a.m. fire. No one was injured.Mr. Nelson said the State Fire Marshal's office was investigating the incident.

More than 1,500 residents have turned in Christmas trees at nine county tree recycling centers and received coupons redeemable for a free evergreen seedling. An additional 500 trees were collected from county yard waste containers.The collected trees are ground into mulch to provide valuable nutrients for other plant life. Residents are eligible to receive up to three 30-gallon plastic bags of mulch at the Harford County Waste Disposal Center at Scarboro Landfill.More trees can be exchanged for seedling coupons from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Harford Waste Disposal center at 3241 Scarboro Road, Street; Bel Air Public Works Department, 705 Churchville Road; Susquehannock Environmental Center, North Tollgate Road, Bel Air; Harford County Highways Shop, 3111 Philadelphia Road, Abingdon; Kroh's Nursery, 3023 Churchville Road, Churchville; and Fallston Yard Waste Facility, Route 152 at Fallston Park and Ride.

Municipal officials from New Windsor and Union Bridge say county government must decide how to handle the collection of yard waste and other materials before residents lose interest in recycling.Their concerns follow a decision by county commissioners to give themselves the authority to make recycling mandatory."A few months ago, I suggested the towns get together to deal with yard waste, and at that point I thought the answer was a bin," New Windsor Mayor Jack A. Gullo Jr. told Commissioner Julia W. Gouge last week.

THE OVERWHELMING STENCH from a composting facility on the Anne Arundel-Howard county border finally forced the Maryland Environmental Service to halt its contract with the company that was operating the plant. Replacing Browning Ferris Industries is a gesture which could not have come sooner to those who suffered because of the company's poor planning.Nearby residents complained that the odor from compost allowed to pile up over three months had sickened their children and their pets. Since the plant began accepting yard waste in November, the Maryland Department of the Environment has cited the yard for odor violations 13 times.

Carroll County has finally found a taker for the plastic-stippled grass clippings and metal-mingled wood chips that the government has had trouble giving away.But the county commissioners will have to spend an estimated $28,000 a year to remove the plastic from the yard waste before a Randallstown lumber corporation takes it away.County Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman estimated that 2,000 tons of grass clippings and wood chips have piled up at the county landfill in Reese since the county banned burial of yard waste in May.That's 29 pounds of free mulch for each Carroll resident, but the county has been able to give it away.