Landscape - Yard Waste Ban in New Castle County

The following is information on the yard waste ban in New Castle County for waste that enters the Cherry Island Landfill.

Yard Waste in New Castle County

There has been a lot of interest recently in New Castle County in the new Yard Waste Ban that goes into effect on January 24, 2008. Here are some details:

This ban is only for yard waste entering the Cherry Island Land Fill. It was imposed as part of the permitting process for the landfill. Over the next several years, other landfills in Delaware will renew their permits and yard waste bans will probably be imposed at that time. The intention is to increase the life of the Cherry Island Land Fill (and others in the future) since 23% of the residential waste stream is yard waste and yard waste can be recycled and reused as compost.

Currently, this ban only affects residents in New Castle County whose trash haulers use the Cherry Island Land Fill (most of northern New Castle County). So the first step for residents is to check with their trash hauler. Landscapers who need to dispose of yard waste can bring the waste to the Cherry Island Land Fill where it will be composted on-site. The tipping fees will be the same as for other waste. Landscapers can also bring yard waste to private entrepreneurs who accept and compost yard waste. Strobert’s Tree Service (475-7089) is accepting yard waste and the tipping fees are less than at the land fill.

Residents should understand they have three choices for dealing with yard waste:

1. Compost and use it on site - this is the best alternative since it doesn’t involve using resources for transport of the waste.
2. Take it to a land fill or composting location yourself.
3. Pay a trash hauler or landscaper participating in yard waste collection services to pick up the yard waste and take it to an appropriate site (depending on the trash hauler, this service may be provided at no additional charge or there may be an additional fee for yard waste pick up).

DNREC is currently working with trash haulers and landscapers in the state to identify the services they will be providing to their customers. A list of yard waste drop-off sites, collection options, and other up-to-date information is available at the DNREC website: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yardwaste.

Reprinted from "Yard Waste and Composting" by Dot Abbott, Susan Barton, and Carrie Murphy, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension. Go to http://ag.udel.edu/extension/horticulture/pdf/hyg/hyg-97.pdf for the full fact sheet.