With the abrupt closing of Antwerp Village’s yard waste collection area, residents are left with an abundance of plant materials on their property. Previously, village residents could free their lawns of downed trees, grass clippings, walnuts and other unwanted plant materials at the brush pile near the water treatment plant. Now that environmental concerns have suspended this practice, alternatives will have to be utilized to dispose of this material.
Many residents hope to reopen this site as a certified compost site that would meet the Ohio EPA’s regulations. However, there are several obstacles that would have to be overcome for this to happen. One of the biggest changes would be the practice of burning plant waste piles would no longer be permitted. Trees and branches would have to be chipped and mixed into the compost pile. The wood has to be processed in this manner at least once a year, but would most likely have to be done more often to keep volume down.
Along with this, a compost facility must include ways to manage its runoff pollution. Nutrients and chemicals that are incorporated into the plant material washes out during rains and enters the Maumee watershed. The Maumee River and its watershed are already stressed by excess nutrients, particularly phosphorus. Any level of class certification by the Ohio EPA would have to limit this runoff so that the problem would not be exacerbated. Likewise, leachate management would be required to prevent contamination of the surrounding soil and groundwater.
Another change would require a weekly log of the type and amount of materials coming into the facility. Annual reports containing this information would also have to be provided. Previously, the workers of the water treatment plant have tended to the yard waste site, but to meet these regulations a staffed or volunteer position would have to be created. Possibly making this worse, the EPA may decide that the current site is not suitable for the facility and a more appropriate setting would have to be found. One likely outcome of this change is to limit the hours of operation of the facility. Current ideas include limiting the operation to normal business hours. However, if the village has to pay for a staffed position it may have to look into just opening the site for a couple of hours once or twice a week.
There are other options outside of a communitywide collection facility, but they have their own concerns. Composting at home is a great way to provide nutrient-rich soil to your own property. There is no gas used in hauling materials and you can control exactly the composition of the compost you want. This will, however, require specific knowledge of composting techniques. Composting in your backyard can also attract unwanted vermin, such as raccoons and opossums, that are attracted to food and plant scraps. In addition, most residents will not be able to dispose of branches and downed trees because they won’t have access to a wood chipper. Besides being costly, operating a wood chipper is also dangerous work that should not be done by those unfamiliar with the machines. Burning branches will be an option for some who live in the country, but Ohio law requires that fires be 1,000 feet from the nearest inhabited building, unless they are less than 3 feet wide and two feet tall. These restrictions make burning yard waste impractical for most town residents. In addition, the increase in amounts of backyard fires would increase the likelihood that one of these fires gets out of control and requires intervention from the fire department. Since trash collection doesn’t include yard waste, many residents will be left with simply piling their waste or neglecting upkeep on their yards.
While the regulations needed to be met has made it difficult for the village to continue the operations of this site, there are benefits to meeting these goals. A Class IV certification would allow the same materials to be dropped off that were previously permitted. However, by following proper composting procedures, the facility would produce high-quality soil that could be made available to local residents to use in their gardens and lawns. While the woodchips would not be desirable enough for use as mulch in garden beds, they can be used as cover for park trails or ground cover to limit soil erosion of bare spots.
The closing of the village’s yard waste collection site has been an unfortunate situation that has put a strain on residents’ abilities to maintain their properties. If the town does decide to reopen the facility, it will not be a quick turnaround to meet all the certification criteria. While the issue is being rectified, you can try composting at home so that compostable materials are not wasted in landfills or improperly eliminated. If you have questions or concerns about composting, please contact Daniel at the Paulding SWCD. Phone: 419-769-1362 or e-mail: Daniel.foust@pauldingswcd.org
