Mirror staff reports:
From Jan. 30 through Feb. 10, Federal Way is providing residents with a free way to get rid of fallen branches from the recent winter storms with free curbside collection during regular garbage service. Residents need to place yard debris in small piles at the curb prior to their regular garbage service day.
This service is available within Federal Way to all single-family and condominium residences eligible for weekly curbside garbage collection, even if they are not Waste Management customers.
Residents also have the option of self-hauling yard debris to several area businesses that are providing discounted rates for storm debris disposal. A full list of businesses is available at www.cityoffederalway.com/selfhaul or by contacting (253) 835-2771 or Jeanette.brizendine@cityoffederalway.com.
Branches and yard debris must be prepared to allow efficient collection. The city recommends preparing branches as follows:
• Please cut branches and limbs. Material must be four feet or less to fit into collection trucks. The maximum diameter of branches is four inches.
• Bundle branches using natural, compostable twine (no wire, nylon or poly twine) or use containers such as spare 32-gallon garbage cans (please label “yard waste”). Bundles and cans are collected manually, so each bundle or container must weigh less than 65 pounds. Oversized materials (logs, stumps) will be left at the curb.
• Place at the curb by 7 a.m. Debris will not be collected from private property, behind fences or in driveways. Place smaller debris in yard waste carts or paper bags. Smaller debris (twigs and leaves) should be set out for collection in regular yard waste carts, or in large kraft paper sacks.
• No plastic bags. Material in plastic bags will only be collected as garbage, subject to extra charges.
• Set out roughly equal amounts over these two weeks if you have many bundles to recycle. Limits are on the size of materials, rather than number of bundles. Some hard-hit yards may have 20 (or more) individual bundles.
• Consider backyard composting at least some of your debris, especially if you have a chipper or a designated compost pile already set up.
Waste Management will collect these materials using trucks that collect weekly yard/food scraps recycling. All collected yard waste and storm debris will be made into compost products by Cedar Grove Composting in Maple Valley.
