NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
May 12, 2008
Vol. 38, No. 211
For further information, contact Rob Underwood or James Short, Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Branch, 302-739-9403, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
DNREC Temporarily Lifts Northern NCC Yard Waste Ban
to Accommodate Storm Cleanup; Ban Resumes at 5 p.m. May 20
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes today directed staff to temporarily suspend the yard waste ban at the Cherry Island Landfill Facility effective at noon today to accommodate cleanup from the storm that brought rain and high winds, downing trees and power lines overnight. More bad weather is predicted today before the storm blows itself out.
“In the wake of this storm, many New Castle County homeowners and businesses will face cleanup of downed limbs that are considerably larger in size and quantity than they would have to deal with under normal circumstances,” said Secretary Hughes. “To ease their burden in disposing of storm debris, we are temporarily lifting the ban on yard waste destined for Cherry Island.”
The temporary lifting of the yard waste ban was accomplished via letter from Nancy C. Marker, manager of the Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Branch and permitting official, to Pasquale S. Canzano, chief executive officer of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, as a temporary suspension of the requirements of DSWA’s Cherry Island permit condition for yard waste diversion. The yard waste ban will resume at Tuesday, May 20, at 5 p.m.
The letter notes that the temporary suspension applies only to yard waste and not disposal of other items prohibited in the permit, and that “where practical, recycling of yard waste is encouraged, though not required.”
The New Castle County yard waste ban went into effect Jan. 24, 2008, and was implemented to help save landfill space. With the ban in effect, an estimated 45,000 tons of waste will be diverted from the county’s Cherry Island Landfill each year.
For more information, please contact the Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Branch, Division of Air and Waste Management, at 302-739-9403 or visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov and click on Yard Waste Information.
