Spring Clean-up: DPW Compost Center Opens and Curbside Yard Waste Collection

Submitted by Ed McGrath
Recycling Coordinator, Bedford Department of Public Works

The Bedford Compost Center at 108 Carlisle Road will open for the season on Saturday, April 8 at 8 a.m. This year, the Department of Public Works is making two changes to the program.

• Curbside collection of yard waste will take place during the week beginning Monday, April 10.
• Residents will be able to take home the finished compost for their gardens.

“The DPW moved one of the weeks of curbside yard waste collection from the fall to April to help residents with their spring cleanup,” said Ed McGrath, Bedford’s Recycling Coordinator. “Also, residents can come to the Compost Center and help themselves to the loam.”

Curbside Collection

For the curbside collection, residents should place the yard waste out by Monday morning April 10, in tall paper bags or open barrels with no lids, separated from their trash and recycling containers. Any yard waste in plastic bags will be left behind.

Compost Center

As for loam, the DPW will have a pile of loam set aside to the right as you enter the facility. Residents must bring their own containers and shovel.

“The loam is available only to residents for their personal use,” said McGrath. “This is purely a self-serve operation and is only available when the Compost Center is open.”

The Compost Center will be open on selected Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting April 12 and every Saturday through May 20, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Compost Center also will be open on selected Saturdays through the summer. Each resident will receive a copy of the 2017 Compost Center schedule in the mail.

Acceptable yard waste consists of leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, garden trimmings, weeds and tree material up to one inch (1”) in diameter. Tree limbs more than one inch (1”) in diameter can be placed in the brush pile. Only kraft paper style biodegradable bags, available at a variety of stores, are allowed to be dropped off. Residents should empty plastic trash bags or containers of yard waste and bring them home for reuse.

Bedford residents interested in composting in their back yard can purchase a compost bins from the DPW for $45 at 314 Great Road, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Kitchen scrap buckets are also available for $7.00 each.