Yard Waste

Yard Waste Business Recycling in Palmer
Palmer Township manages yard waste through encouraging grasscycling, two (2) curbside yard waste collections each year in the spring and fall, a fall curbside leaf collection, and two (2) drop-off locations.

Curbside Yard Waste Collection
(spring and fall, see Special Curbside Collections for dates)

Unlimited amounts of yard waste (leaves, branches, twigs, flowers, roots, bushes, garden clippings) will be collected curbside. Place your yard waste in any open top container (your old green, round recycling container or a clean trash container, NOT YOUR AUTOMATED CART), tie with cotton or hemp twine in bundles no larger than 3’ x 3’ x 3’, and weighing no more than 40 pounds, or place in compostable paper bags (NO PLASTIC BAGS, ROPE OR TWINE).

No grass clippings, tree stumps, loose soils, sod, any wood or tree limbs over four (4) inches in diameter; human or animal excrement; noxious weeds to include bamboo or soil contaminated with hazardous substances.

Curbside Leaf Collection
The Township’s curbside collection of leaves will take place for eight (8) weeks during the fall. Residents must rake their leaves into the street close to the curb. Collection is weather dependent.

Curbside Christmas Tree Collection
Collected during the first full three (3) weeks each January. Please remove tinsel, ornaments, and tree stands. Trees in plastic bags will not be collected.

Yard Waste Drop-Off Recycling Center
For Palmer Township Residents Only
This monitored facility is open to Palmer residents only and is located at the end of Berks Street.

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS:
No bagging or bundling of materials is needed. Accepts unlimited amounts of yard waste including leaves, branches, twigs, flowers, roots, bushes, garden clippings; limbs up to twelve (12) inches in diameter.

UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS:
Construction waste, stumps, grass clippings, tree limbs over twelve (12) inches in diameter, loose soils, sod, food waste (including food waste from gardens or orchards), plastics or synthetic fibers, wood, human or animal excrement, noxious weeds to include bamboo or soil contaminated with hazardous substances. If any load is deemed contaminated the whole load will be rejected.

Residential Fees:
Car trunk full: $5.00
Pick-up or small utility trailer (smaller than or equal to 8' X 8') each: $12.00
Large trailer (larger than 8' X 8' or tandem axle): $30.00
Non-commercial stake body truck: $30.00
Non-commercial small dump truck: $30.00 (up to Class 4 window sticker)

Commercial Fees:
Commercial large trailer (larger than 8' X 8' or tandem axle): $60.00
Commercial stake body truck: $60.00
Commercial small dump truck: $60.00 (up to Class 4 window sticker)

No large dump trucks allowed. If you have small amounts of yard waste they can be brought to the Hartley Avenue Recycling Center and placed in the yard waste dumpster.

Hours of Operation:
Days and Hours of Operation:
December - 1st Sunday of the month - 12 Noon to 4 PM
January - 1st Sunday of the month* - 12 Noon to 4 PM
February - 1st Sunday of the month - 12 Noon to 4 PM
March - Every Sunday ** - 12 Noon to 4 PM

April through November
Saturday** - 10 AM to 4 PM
Sunday** - 12 Noon to 4 PM
Wednesdays - 9 AM to 3 PM

* If January 1 is a Sunday the facility would be opened on January 8
** Except Holidays

NO LARGE DUMP TRUCKS ARE ALLOWED. CONTAMINATED LOADS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

NOTE: Hours are subject to change due to weather and other conditions. Heavy rain, snow or extreme cold may force the temporary closure of this site. This facility may open additional hours to handle materials in the event of a serious storm. Check the website at www.palmertwp.com or call the municipal building at (610) 253-7191 for more information.

FREE MULCH
Again this year, the Palmer Township Public Works Department will load mulch for free at the Berks Street Yard Waste Facility on the following Saturdays (weather permitting and while supplies last) from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., while supplies last: June 5, July 3, August 7 and September 4. The township provides no statement or warranty on the mulch's quality.


Recycling Drop-Off Center


This monitored facility is located at 3600 Hartley Avenue, between Greenwood Avenue and South Nulton Avenue.
Days and Hours of Operation:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 12 to 4 PM
Saturday, 10 to 3 PM
Sunday 12 to 4 PM

Accepts bundled small amounts of yard waste, no larger than one (1) foot high by three (3) foot long and not exceeding 40 pounds. (maximum of four (4) bundles per vehicle)

Grasscycling
Why And How To Cut It And Leave It!
A typical lawn of 5,000 square feet generates about 75 pounds of grass clippings per mowing. Stop lugging those heavy and expensive bags! Cutting and leaving your grass clippings will save you water, fertilizer, money, and your back! Years of research has shown that by mowing frequently (five (5) to six (6) times per month) and not bagging those clippings can save landowners up to 40% of the time they spend on routine lawn care! Imagine what you can do with that extra time!

When grasscycling is properly done, clippings settle quickly between the growing blades of grass where they shelter the roots from the sun, conserving moisture. As they break down, they release more moisture as well as nutrients into the soil. This means that grass needs to be watered less frequently.

Clippings left on the lawn supply one-third or more of the nitrogen needed to keep your grass green and healthy reducing the amount of fertilizer needed. Grass clippings contain protein as well as about 4% nitrogen, 2% potassium and 0.5% phosphorus - nutrients the turf needs, and the same ones that we purchase as fertilizer at our garden store!

Grass clippings do not contribute appreciably to thatch development. Thatch is an accumulation of dead roots and stems which are parts of the grass plant that decompose slowly. Clippings, which are 95% water, are the leaves of the grass plant and decompose too quickly to contribute to thatch.

The University of Missouri may answer many of the technical questions you have on grass recycling.

Simple Steps For Grasscycling

  • Cut only the top 1/3 of the grass blade and leave the clippings right on the lawn.
  • Mow when the grass is dry to avoid tracking and clumping.
  • Keep your mower blade sharp.

No special equipment is necessary. While mulching mowers and blades are available and do a great job, any conventional mower can grasscycle, just remove the bag! In the case of rear discharge mowers, the exhaust chute must be shut off. Adapter kits or retro-fit kits are available for your conventional mowers.



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