December 2011Monthly Archives

Christmas Tree recycling and disposal locations

Wrapping up the holiday season means taking down the tree and decorati0ns. We can’t help you with the lights and ornaments, but when it comes time to dispose of your tree, we’ve got some help for you. Or rather, some good information on how to get rid of the tree cleanly.

City and county governments throughout the region have organized a host of resources to  help you dispose of your Christmas tree this year. Please consider using one of the services below before burning your tree.

Thurston County

Tree Pickup Locations
LeMay compost collection/yard waste customers can place their trees near compost carts  n sections cut to 3 feet or less. For more information, call (360) 923-0111.

City of Olympia garbage customers whose regular trash pickup is on Thursday or Friday, tree pickup will be Jan. 7. For those with Tuesday or Wednesday service, pickup will be Jan. 14. Make sure your tree is in your regular trash pickup location by 6 a.m. on your collection day. Call (360) 753-8509.

Lacey residents will have their trees picked up by city crews; they also can request a donation-based pickup from local Boy Scout troops. For city pickup, place trees at the curb by 8 a.m. Jan. 9. The Boy Scouts will be around Jan. 7. Call (360) 491-3214.

Tumwater residents should place trees at the nearest street corner by 8 a.m. Jan. 9. Call (360) 754-4150.

Tree Dropoff Locations
All Thurston County residents can take trees to the Waste and Recovery Center from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 2418 Hogum Bay Road N.E. in Lacey. The center will be closed New Year’s Day.

Rainier residents can drop trees off from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays until Jan. 14 at 13010 Rainier Acres Road.

Rochester residents can take trees to a drop box from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Saturdaysand Sundays through Jan. 15 at 16500 Sargent Road.

Visit http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/solidwaste/holidays/holidays-treecollect.htm for more information.

Mason County

Bill McTurnal Enterprises at 721 Kamilche Lane accepts tree from Dec. 28 – Jan. 9 during daylight hours. On weekends, leave trees by closed gate.

Visit http://www.411.com/business/mason-county-wood-recyclers-shelton-wa for more information.

Pacific County

Community Development indicates no County resources are available. However, residents can pay extra for local trash disposal.

Clallam County

Port Angeles - Christmas trees will be collected curbside in the city of Port Angeles during the week beginning Jan. 10

Sequim - The city of Sequim in the past has ground and composted Christmas trees for city residents at no charge at the city yard, but this service is not available this year, according to a city Public Works spokeswoman.

Forks - No city recycling of Christmas trees.

County residents can take trees to the yard debris area of the Regional Transfer Station at 3501 W. 18th St. in Port Angeles, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday for a fee of $5.

Western Clallam County can take trees to West Waste Transfer Facility, 272 LaPush Road, Forks.

The transfer facility is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Thursday through Saturday.

Both transfer stations will be closed this Saturday, which is New Year’s Day.

Jefferson County

Port Townsend - Christmas trees will be collected free of charge as part of regular curbside garbage and yard debris pickup service between December 26th and December 30th and again between Jan. 9th and January 13th.
• For trees to be collected free as part of yard debris collection service they must not have any tinsel, frocking, or any other decoration or attached tree stands
• Trees that are taller than 4’ need to be cut into less than 4’ sections to be accepted free as yard debris
• Trees that have tinsel, frocking, or any other decoration or tree stands attached will be charged at the rate for garbage disposal

Jefferson County - If County residents subscribe for curbside garbage collection from Murrey’s Disposal, trees will be collected at the rate charged for an extra garbage can. No collection events are planned for either by the County or in the private sector as was done last year

City and County residents - Trees that are free of tinsel, frocking, or any other decoration or attached tree stands can be disposed of at the Transfer Station at the yard debris rate – any tree up to 200 lbs. would be $5. Trees not disposed of as yard debris will be charged at the minimum fee rate for ea. facility:
o Transfer Station minimum fee is $4.95
o Quilcene Drop Box Facility minimum fee is $2.97

For more information, please visit http://jeffersoncountysolidwaste.com/.

Gray Harbor County

Aberdeen-Hoquiam residents can bring their trees to Washington Grade School, Jan 1-2, 2011 – 9am to 4 pm, Jan 8-9, 2011 – 9am to 4 pm, Jan 15, 2011 – 9am to 4 pm. Contact Number: (360) 591-9342

Montesano residents can bring their trees to Napa Auto Parts, Jan 1-2, 2011 – 9am to 4 pm and Jan 8-9, 2011 – 9am to 4 pm. Contact Number: (360) 470-1651

For more information visit http://www.co.grays-harbor.wa.us/info/pub_svcs/recycle/ChristmasTrees.htm

General Resources -
http://1800recycle.wa.gov

  • Flocked trees normally can’t be recycled and must be cut up and placed in the trash. However, please check with your local disposal resource for specifics.
  • Remove all twine, ornaments, lights, stands, tinsel and nails.
  • For curbside programs, trees over six feet need to be cut in half.
  • Multi-family complex residents should check with their property managers for tree placement locations, or use the drop-off locations underlined below.

Bird Habitat

If you can’t get rid of your tree easily, put it to use for you. Anchor it in a corner of your property and place a bird feeder nearby. Song birds will appreciate having a place to rest that provides cover from roaming cats, wind, and rain  between meals at the feeder. You can also use the tree as a feeder itself.

Make a DIY Birdfeeder From An Old Christmas Tree

  1. Take off all the tree decorations. (If you used home-strung popcorn strings as a tree decoration, you can leave that in place — the birds will love it.)
  2. Find a location where you can enjoy all the action. Make sure the birds are safe from flying into windows.
  3. Attach tree to a secure location (a fence or to another tree) using rope or bungee cords.
  4. Redecorate the tree with safe and healthy bird food. Fat, protein and carbohydrates are what birds need to survive cold winters. Foods like peanuts and birdseed also include vitamins and minerals, which can also produce healthier eggs and chicks.

More information about setting up habitat trees can be found here: http://www.enature.com/articles/detail.asp?storyID=407

 

MarkM
December 28, 2011
Exec. Director's Desk, News and Information
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NEWS: EPA Issues First National Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants

Historic “Mercury and Air Toxics Standards” Meet 20-Year Old Requirement to Cut Dangerous Smokestack Emissions

 WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide. The standards will slash emissions of these dangerous pollutants by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants.

EPA estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

“By cutting emissions that are linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses like asthma, these standards represent a major victory for clean air and public health– and especially for the health of our children. With these standards that were two decades in the making, EPA is rounding out a year of incredible progress on clean air in America with another action that will benefit the American people for years to come,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will protect millions of families and children from harmful and costly air pollution and provide the American people with health benefits that far outweigh the costs of compliance.”

“Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health,” said Albert A. Rizzo, MD, National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware. “The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants.”

More than 20 years ago, a bipartisan Congress passed the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and mandated that EPA require control of toxic air pollutants including mercury. To meet this requirement, EPA worked extensively with stakeholders, including industry, to minimize cost and maximize flexibilities in these final standards. There were more than 900,000 public comments that helped inform the final standards being announced today. Part of this feedback encouraged EPA to ensure the standards focused on readily available and widely deployed pollution control technologies, that are not only manufactured by companies in the United States, but also support short-term and long-term jobs. EPA estimates that manufacturing, engineering, installing and maintaining the pollution controls to meet these standards will provide employment for thousands, potentially including 46,000 short-term construction jobs and 8,000 long-term utility jobs.

Power plants are the largest remaining source of several toxic air pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, cyanide, and a range of other dangerous pollutants, and are responsible for half of the mercury and over 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States.  Today, more than half of all coal-fired power plants already deploy pollution control technologies that will help them meet these achievable standards. Once final, these standards will level the playing field by ensuring the remaining plants – about 40 percent of all coal fired power plants – take similar steps to decrease dangerous pollutants.

As part of the commitment to maximize flexibilities under the law, the standards are accompanied by a Presidential Memorandum that directs EPA to use tools provided in the Clean Air Act to implement the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in a cost-effective manner that ensures electric reliability. For example, under these standards, EPA is not only providing the standard three years for compliance, but also encouraging permitting authorities to make a fourth year broadly available for technology installations, and if still more time is needed, providing a well-defined pathway to address any localized reliability problems should they arise.

Mercury has been shown to harm the nervous systems of children exposed in the womb, impairing thinking, learning and early development, and other pollutants that will be reduced by these standards can cause cancer, premature death, heart disease, and asthma.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which are being issued in response to a court deadline, are in keeping with President Obama’s Executive Order on regulatory reform. They are based on the latest data and provide industry significant flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of already existing technologies.

The standards also ensure that public health and economic benefits far outweigh costs of implementation.  EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants, the American public will see up to $9 in health benefits. The total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $90 billion annually.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was issued earlier this year, are the most significant steps to clean up pollution from power plant smokestacks since the Acid Rain Program of the 1990s.

Combined, the two rules are estimated to prevent up to 46,000 premature deaths, 540,000 asthma attacks among children, 24,500 emergency room visits and hospital admissions.  The two programs are an investment in public health that will provide a total of up to $380 billion in return to American families in the form of longer, healthier lives and reduced health care costs.

More information: www.epa.gov/mats

 

admin
December 21, 2011
News and Information
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Stage 1 Burn Ban LIFTED in Thurston & Mason Counties

With today’s change in weather, air quality has improved signficantly allowing Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) to lift the Stage 1 Burn Ban in Thurston and Mason Counties, effective immediately (Friday, Dec. 16, 12-noon).

ORCAA staff thanks the residents of these counties for the support of, and adherence to, the burn ban while it was in effect. By voluntarily reducing the amount of burning done prior to the implementation of the formal burn ban, residents of Thurston and Mason Counties where able to minimize pollution and actually delay the implementation of a formal ban for a full week. At that time, the inversion over the region proved too much and a ban was needed.

Now that the Stage 1 ban has been lifted, ORCAA encourages residents to remember that just because you can burn doesn’t mean you should.

Burning at any time adds to the air pollution levels in your local neighborhood, and residents are encouraged to seek alternatives to burning throughout the year. ORCAA especially encourages residents to resist outdoor burning when possible. When outdoor burning does take place, note that only natural vegetation may be burned. State law prohibits the burning of garbage and home-repair debris at any time. Burn barrels of any kind are also prohibited by state law. Outdoor burning in also prohibited in any Urban Growth Area.

Unregulated outdoor burning of any kind can contribute to poor air quality, but burning garbage and other debris—even scraps of milled wood products—is particularly problematic. Most household garbage contains a great deal of plastics, chemicals, coatings and chemically treated materials. When burned, this garbage and waste material releases toxic fumes and particles into the air. This pollution can cause health problems ranging from eye and respiratory irritation to potential cancers.

The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) encourages all residents to explore options such as chipping of woody debris, and composting of leaves and grass-clippings rather than burning.

Woodstoves and fireplace inserts used for home heating, meanwhile, should be operated as cleanly as possible. That means allowing adequate airflow into the fire chamber to encourage a hot fire for complete combustion. Choking a fire by turning down the damper creates significant smoke that can impact a neighborhood. Fires should be kept small and hot for most efficient use of your fuel ­– you’ll save money and save our shared air.

For more information about burn ban regulations, clean home heating and outdoor burning practices, visit www.orcaa.org

 

admin
December 16, 2011
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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Stage 1 Burn Ban CONTINUES for Thurston & Mason Counties

The Stage One Burn Ban in Thurston & Mason Counties continues today (Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011).

Despite the showers that fell Thursday morning, air pollution levels remained high enough to require the continuation of the Stage 1 ban in Thurston and Mason Counties. To fully cleanse the air, winds are needed to ventilate and remove the pollutants. Forecasts predict those winds sometime Friday. ORCAA staff continually monitor and evaluate conditions and will update the Burn Ban status as soon as possible.

Under a Stage 1 Ban, no burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves, and all outdoor burning is prohibited, even in areas where outdoor burning is not permanently banned. Additionally, no visible smoke is allowed from any wood stove or fireplace, certified or not, beyond a 20-minute start-up period.

While pollution levels in Thurston and Mason Counties warrant the Stage One Ban, other counties within the jurisdiction of the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) haven’t reached that level. To avoid bans in their areas, the residents of Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam, and Jefferson Counties are asked to voluntarily refrain from all outdoor burning, and to use safe alternatives to wood heat if possible.

Of particular concern are fine particles released by smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces. The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Olympic Region Clean Air Agency staff will continue to monitor the situation to determine when the burn ban can be lifted. In the meantime, here are some other things people can do to help protect the air we breathe:

  • If you have a certified wood stove or fireplace insert, make sure you are using it properly so you don’t produce excess chimney smoke. Excess smoke is always illegal. To learn more about clean burning techniques or upgrading to a certified, pellet, natural gas or propane stove, visit http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/
  • To determine if your stove is certified, visit www.orcaa.org.
  • Limit your driving as much as possible, since vehicles are a big source of air pollution year round. Check air-quality forecasts and current conditions at www.orcaa.org.

For more information about Burn Ban regulations, you may refer to Chapter 173-433 of the Washington Administrative Code.

admin
December 15, 2011
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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NEWS: Stage 1 Burn Ban called for Thurston & Mason Counties

A Stage One Burn Ban is being called for Thurston & Mason Counties effective 5 p.m. today and continuing at least through the end of the week.

Under a Stage 1 Ban, no burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves, and all outdoor burning is prohibited, even in areas where outdoor burning is not permanently banned. Additionally, no visible smoke is allowed from any wood stove or fireplace, certified or not, beyond a 20-minute start-up period.

A system of stable, high pressure over Western Washington, coupled with cold overnight temperatures has resulted in air pollution levels climbing enough to raise concerns about the air quality and its impacts on health. A change in weather will be needed to restore cleaner air quality, yet that’s not forecast to occur this week.

While pollution levels in Thurston and Mason Counties warrant the Stage One Ban, other counties within the jurisdiction of the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) haven’t reached that level. To avoid bans in their areas, the residents of Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam, and Jefferson Counties are asked to voluntarily refrain from all outdoor burning, and to use safe alternatives to wood heat if possible.

Of particular concern are fine particles released by smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces. The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Olympic Region Clean Air Agency staff will continue to monitor the situation to determine when the burn ban can be lifted. In the meantime, here are some other things people can do to help protect the air we breathe:

  • If you have a certified wood stove or fireplace insert, make sure you are using it properly so you don’t produce excess chimney smoke. Excess smoke is always illegal. To learn more about clean burning techniques or upgrading to a certified, pellet, natural gas or propane stove, visit http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/
  • To determine if your stove is certified, visit www.orcaa.org.
  • Limit your driving as much as possible, since vehicles are a big source of air pollution year round. Check air-quality forecasts and current conditions at www.orcaa.org.

For more information about Burn Ban regulations, you may refer to Chapter 173-433 of the Washington Administrative Code.

admin
December 12, 2011
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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