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Posts tagged ‘compost container’

Sep 11

What a Storm! Now Comes Community Clean Up

Hundreds of trees were damaged in the September 8, 2020 storm in Salt Lake City. Curbside collection was delayed, but caught up by Friday.

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Following this week’s devastating windstorm that knocked out power to over 170,000 Utah residents and downed thousands of trees (SLTrib), Salt Lake City departments are working together alongside residents and volunteers from the community to take care of the clean up.

Please see the Mayor’s Frequently Asked Questions page for the most up-to-date information.

City Trees and Debris Clearing

This week, the City has been hard at work clearing roadways and helping with emergency response related to the wind damage and power outages. Here are a few things to keep in mind about debris removal:

  • City Trees: City trees are located along the parkstrips and medians throughout the city. If there are limbs and debris from these trees that you have collected, please place these materials at the curbside for cleanup.
  • Trees in Your Yard: If trees on your property have fallen and you’ve started the clean up process, please wait to put these materials at the curb. Residents have a few options for handling this yard waste. The City will be moving through neighborhoods to remove debris. However, this will take some time.
  • Salt Lake Valley Landfill: If you are eager to remove the waste from your property, we appreciate the help clearing our city. The Salt Lake Valley Landfill has waived the tipping fees for residential yard waste through September 23. Please note that commercial contractors will still be charged for green waste disposal. Also note that lines may be long, so consider going to the Landfill at an off-peak time.
  • Request extra brown compost containers: You can request up to two extra containers for free to clear debris from your property (while supplies last). Fill out the form or contact 801-535-6999 to request.
  • Need help clearing trees? The City has partnered with United Way 2-1-1 to help connect residents with volunteers to help clear heavy trees and branches. Those needing assistance should contact or call 2-1-1.

After not being able to service Tuesday’s routes, our Waste & Recycling teams are back on schedule, collecting waste, recycling, and compost. Make sure to have your containers out by 7 a.m. on your collection day so we can service your home.

Remember, branches and leaves can be placed in the brown yard waste bins. More information about which materials can go into your compost container is available here!

Volunteer!

Salt Lake City is lucky to have a community of residents who are eager to help. If you are interested in volunteering to help your neighbors clear and dispose of trees on their property, you can sign up to volunteer through Utah’s National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster program.

Additional Resources

As we collectively work to respond to the third emergency Salt Lake City has experienced since the beginning of the pandemic, we will continue to provide information about resources that are available in our community.

Find detailed updates on the Mayor’s Wind Damage FAQ page.

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See the FAQ page for more disposal information on tree disposal.

Dec 20

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Your Waste & Recycling Questions

Salt Lake City’s waste & recycling survey closed earlier this month. We are grateful for all of the feedback– we received nearly 6,200 responses, which is a record!

Now our team is busily combing through over 12,000 of your comments. We plan to compile these into a feedback summary in the new year. Stay tuned!

Bales of aluminum at a recent visit to the local recycling facility that processes SLC’s residential recycling.
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Waste & Recycling Tips

In the meantime, we’ve been reading a lot of questions about Salt Lake City’s waste & recycling services. So we thought this would be a good opportunity to share some answers, links, and helpful resources:

What’s recycled in SLC? 

SLC is dedicated to keeping recycling and compost available. Residents can recycle clean and dry plastic containers, cardboard and paperboard, aluminum cans, and paper in the blue curbside containers.

Go even further with waste diversion when you use the brown compost can for yard trimmings AND kitchen scraps. This includes veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and paper filters, tea bags (no staples or string), and eggshells.

Does recycling even matter?

Yes! It absolutely makes a difference. For example, in June 2019, Salt Lake City residents recycled 585 tons of cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard. To put this in perspective, this saved the equivalent of 5,732 mature trees, 2,238 cubic yards of landfill airspace, enough water to meet the daily needs of 41,625 people, and enough electricity to fulfill the annual needs of 175 homes! All this recycling helped us avoid 2,027 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which makes for cleaner air too.

Multiply those numbers by 12 and you have the average impact of Salt Lake City’s curbside recycling program over the year. You are making a difference–thank you!

Recycling matters— this topic was the inspiration behind our newest truck wraps.


New recycling facility coming to Salt Lake City this spring

Read more

Oct 11

Dropping Temps and Falling Leaves

Everyday I'm Rustlin

Fall is here in Salt Lake City and leaves are beginning to drop.

This is a friendly reminder to please use your brown compost containers to dispose of leaves. The brown bins go to the compost facility at the Salt Lake Valley Landfill.

Have a lot of leaves?

  • Try composting leaves in your own yard, in a compost can or mulching them into your flower beds or gardens. Read our blog post detailing how and why this is a beneficial practice.
  • Rather than a chore to be conquered all at once, rake enough leaves each week just to fill the can.
  • Temporarily store extra leaves in your yard, in a pile, or in a large sturdy container and feed them into your yard waste can each week.

Extra Brown Containers

Containers can be requested anytime during the year except for February and March when compost collection is temporarily suspended. Read more