Yard Debris

Central Bark Yard Debris

I recently noticed that the sign describing what is and what is not acceptable material is no longer on our building wall, so many people simply don't know what we consider "good" yard debris.  That has resulted in us spending an awful lot of time and resources picking stuff out of the pile that  never should have been there in the first place.  We try to ask a few questions and take a quick glance at loads before dumping, but sometimes things get missed, or people simply don't understand what's what.  Plastics can be especially hard to distinguish.  That cheap flooring you pulled up that looks like wood but isn't?  That broken desk you bought in a flat pack and assembled yourself so many years ago that might have that wood-look layer on top, or might be a glossy white?  Those are laminates: wood fiber coated in or layered with plastics.  The expensive decking that looks like wood but doesn't rot and never needs refinishing?  That's a composite: wood fiber mixed with plastics.  That's just a few examples of wood-like stuff that doesn't actually count as yard debris.  So lets take a moment here to clarify just what "Yard Debris" is.

We accept clean woody debris. Natural stuff. The purpose of this pile is to be ground up into ground cover and compost. Pruning your apple tree? We’ll take those limbs. Cut back a bunch of blackberry brambles? You bet. Rake up your leaves? Sure. Built a deck and have some lumber ends? Yeah, we can take those, as long as they’re actual wood, and not pressure treated. Tear down that old leaning cedar fence? We can absolutely take the boards, just remove all the hinges and brackets. Nails and staples are even ok, in moderation! Pull a bunch of weeds? Do your best to shake out the dirt from the root ball, and it will be fine.

Not sure if we can take it or not? Ask yourself these questions first: If you owned a wood chipper yourself, would you put your items in it? Will it decompose in a year or so?  Would you eat the vegetables that grew out of that material?

Still not sure? Just ask! When you get here with your load of debris, we will inspect it. If we spot something that we can’t take, we’ll point it out. If its just one or two specific items, you can still dump the rest of the load just not the prohibited items.

Acceptable Yard Debris is grindable, recyclable matter. Stuff that rots. Stuff that goes through a wood chipper. Things like tree limbs, leaves, regular lumber, pine cones. Old cedar fencing. Things that you wouldn’t mind burying in your garden and eating the carrots that grew out of it.

Metal is neither chippable nor decomposable. Hinges, brackets, bolts. These items break the chipper. Sometimes they come flying out of the machine and injure people. Metal is not acceptable.

Plastic is not decomposable. Composite decking. Laminate materials, such as flooring, countertops, and that cheap broken bookshelf. Even hardwood flooring that has been finished with polyurethane counts as plastic. Plastic is not acceptable.

Food scraps are wonderful additions to your home compost pile.  Old fruit, egg shells, pumpkin pulp... all terrific compost.... for YOUR pile.  Unfortunately, they can attract critters.  We don't want critters scampering around our pile, we don't want critters getting squished on the highway in front of our yard while they travel to and from our pile, and we ESPECIALLY don't want critters nesting in our pile, getting smashed by the loader as we manage the pile.  Sorry.  

Cardboard and canvas, while decomposable, are not grindable. They make an unholy mess in that grinder, which then has to shut down while the crew cleans it out. The machine may be shut down, but the meter is not. We’re still paying for every hour that machine and crew is on our site. Cardboard and canvas are not acceptable.

Pressure treated wood. Well, the modern stuff isn’t near as bad as the old green stuff, but it’s still not suitable for compost. Pressure treated wood is not acceptable.

Dirt and rocks are neither chippable nor decomposable. Much like metal, as described above. This also goes for chunks of broken concrete. And sod, which acts like canvas in the grinder. Dirt, rocks, sod, and broken concrete are not acceptable.

Roofing. Really? Do we really need to talk about tar paper and asphalt shingles? The stuff you put on your house specifically to PREVENT it from turning into compost?? Roofing is not acceptable.

Broken glass. Empty dog food bags. Pet waste.  Plastic shopping bags. Old clothes and rags. A plastic shopping bag full of old underwear. Ok, now y’all are just trolling us. Sadly, these are all things we have picked out of our debris pile. Garbage is not acceptable.

TL:DR? If you don’t want it in your compost pile, we don’t want it in ours.

Seriously, folks. Be thoughtful.  We don’t take this stuff because we enjoy dealing with it. We take it because it’s a convenience and a service to our customers, most of whom are bright, friendly people that we truly enjoy serving, and want to do the right thing. But if current trends in inappropriate dumping continue, we will simply have to cut it off entirely.