Downed Trees Are Mulched, Chipped And Recycled After Storms
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Clean up continues after a tornado touched down this weekend in Carver County.
Debris from the Friday night twister was scattered all around the communities of Watertown and Hollywood.
Xcel Energy says nearly all the people who lost power after the weekend storm have it back now.
The Mulch Store east of St. Bonifacius is one of the many sites across the metro and state taking in load upon load of storm damage trees.
City crews and private contractors continued hauling the compost in Watertown Monday, where streets and boulevards are littered with big limbs and small branches.
Shane Fineran is Watertown's administrator, where there's no charge for residents in to haul tree waste to the city's compost center.
"Ours is completely free," Fineran said. "Dropoff is free whatever they want to take is free as well, that's available to city residents."
Mike Mulcahy is on his 4th trip to the compost, with more to go.
"Just load it up and bring it down here, free of charge," Mulcahy said. "It's convenient. Privileged to have it."
If your city doesn't offer free disposal, it likely contracts with private waste haulers or compost centers. Most charge between $4 to $8 per cubic yard for disposal.
At the Mulch Store site Minnetrista, a steady stream of trailers and trucks dumped off trunks and branches. Most of it will be chipped up or shredded into mulch, but some is chepped up and sent to district energy plants to be burned for electricity
What storms take away, comes back thanks to recycling...
"They'll actually use it as a recipe for compost," Carver County environmental worker Marcus Zbinden said. "Brush, when ground up, is a great source of carbon -- necessary when composting. So not only mulch, but compost as well."
Residents should first check with their municipalities to see if they accept storm damage waste. Most do, so long as you haul it in.
There are also a number of private composting sites, too. Hennepin, Dakota and Carver Counties have them listed on their websites.
