NEWS FROM YOUR
SOLID WASTE & RECYCLING COMMITTEE

Did you Know?
Shelby Township residents in single family and duplex homes are now served by a new semi-automatic collection system by Allied Waste.  A mechanical arm lifts and dumps your cart into a hopper, then returns your cart into place.  For this system to work best, please observe the following guidelines:

• Leave space between your Trash and Yard Waste carts, perhaps by placing them on opposite sides of the driveway.
• Place carts so the opening faces the street. (Note the arrows on the lid.)
• Don’t overload the cart!  The driver can pick up your extra bags, too! 
• And please, BAG ALL YOUR TRASH, so it won’t blow around when the carts are emptied!  Your neighbors will thank you!

 

End of the Yard Waste Season

Yard Waste collection will end November 30 and resume again in April.  Please, only branches cut to 2-foot lengths, no more than 1” in diameter.  Please, no landscaping materials, sod, dirt, or stones.  Please limit the weight of the container to 75 pounds—a full container of grass can exceed 200 pounds!

 

Looking for Alternatives to Yard Waste disposal?

• Try “grass-cycling”!  Cut your grass no more than 1/3 of its length and leave the clippings to nourish your lawn
• What about thatch?  Thatch results from aggressive growth due to over-fertilizing and over-watering, not from grass clippings!
• What about all those leaves?  Fallen leaves are rich in nutrients—try mowing them to mulch them, or just rake them into gardens or beds or around trees for mulch.  Ask your “tree-less” friends if they would like some for mulch!
• What about composting?  Besides “grass-cycling” and leaf mulching, you can also compost other organic materials.  Contact the MSU Extension at 586-469-5180 or the Township Clerk’s Office at 586-731-5102 for more information.  Specific guidelines for composting are governed by Shelby Township Ordinance.

 

Christmas Tree Collection

Allied Waste customers can recycle their live Christmas trees by removing ornaments and plastic bags, cut the tree into 3 to 4 foot lengths if taller than 6 feet, and placing at the curb on trash day, the 2nd week of January.  Any trees placed out at any other time will be taken with the trash. 

 

Hot Ashes

As the weather is getting cooler and thoughts are turning to fireplaces and wood stoves, please be sure that any ashes you discard for trash collection are cool.  Each year there are occurrences of fires in the trash trucks, because smoldering ashes are place din the trash.  Allied Waste Services requests that all ashes be disposed of in plastic garbage bags.

 

Label Your Trash Containers

In an effort to restore missing trash and yard waste carts and recycling bins to their owners, please label your carts and bin with your address.  This can be done with an indelible marking pen.  Please do not label with your name, as the containers remain the property of the residence if and when you move.

 

Disposal of Compact Fluorescent “Bulbs” and traditional Fluorescent “Tubes”

We encourage the use of fluorescent lighting because of the energy savings, but please note that any fluorescent lighting product contains mercury and is considered a hazardous waste product.  We encourage you to dispose of these products at our annual Household Hazardous Waste Day event, held the last Saturday of April.  You may contact the Macomb County Health Department at 586-466-7923 for disposal of hazardous wastes throughout the year. 

Please check the Township Website:  www.shelbytwp.org for details and updates on this and other information related to the collection of solid waste and recycling in Shelby Township.

 

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