There are many opportunities available for locals who are seeking to partake in the annual spring-cleaning ritual.
Residents of the San Lorenzo Valley may take advantage of the free yard waste drop-off events at the Ben Lomond Transfer Station on April 10, 11, 17, and 18 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Once again, the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District will be sponsoring the free event.
“We do it in November and April — at the beginning and end of the backyard burn season — just to provide additional incentives for people to recycle their yard waste instead of burning it,” said Amy Clymo, air quality planner with the district.
The district began monitoring the air quality in the San Lorenzo Valley back in 2011, so this is the fourth winter that air quality measurements have been collected, she said.
“It actually is highly variable each year based on weather,” Clymo said. “We’ve seen a range from four days where the fine particles in the air are over the standard, and in the winter up to 40 days.”
Last winter was warmer than usual so there were fewer air quality standard overages — only four or five, Clymo said.
“Where the year before it was 37 exceedances and that’s because we had longer time periods where it was really cold at night and then the inversion layer sets in and traps the smoke in the valley,” she explained. “So weather is a major factor in the pollution levels in the valley in the winter.”
Through the free yard waste drop-off events, the district is attempting to limit or eliminate backyard burns.
“We are trying to use this as a way to reduce sources of smoke in the valley and it also reduces nuisance between neighbors,” Clymo said. “Sometimes, if someone is doing a backyard burn, the smoke may be an issue for their neighbors or their neighborhood.”
The free yard waste drop-off event will not accept drop boxes or dump trucks, refuse, dirt, lumber, poison oak, root balls, pampas grass, or any material over eight feet in length and four feet in diameter.
“It’s a way for folks to clear vegetation for defensible space around their home and be able to drop it off for free at the transfer station,” said Boulder Creek Fire Chief Kevin McClish.
Due to the California’s severe drought, it is essential to clean up the area surrounding the home, especially during the dry season.
“We recommend that folks keep tree limbs 30 feet from the house and we like to see 100 feet of clearance for brush and stuff around the house, but a lot of times property lines prohibit folks from doing that,” McClish said.
The drop-off event is funded by the Air District’s general fund and they have a contract with the County that provides a slight discount on dollar per ton weight, Clymo said.
“We have found it to be very successful,” she said, “lots of people participate and it’s a great avenue to recycle yard waste — either to reduce the fire hazard and also so that people don’t have to burn it. It gives them an alternative.”
Separate from the air pollution district’s program, there will also be a countywide tire recycling drive beginning next week at the Ben Lomond Transfer Station, Santa Cruz County Landfill, and the Buena Vista Landfill.
From April 18 to 25, these landfills will accept five tires per day per residential property for free. Recycling of old tires will also help to eliminate breeding places for mosquitoes.
