Some cities schedule spring yard cleanup
(From left) Tom Moschner, Manuel De La Torre and Lee Willis feed debris to a wood chipper during the April 2020 brush collection sponsored by the city of Moses Lake. Spring cleanup time has arrived again and cities, including Moses Lake, will offer curbside collection for some yard debris
File photo
Lee Willis (left) and Manuel De La Torre (right) feed tree limbs and brush clippings to the chipper during the April 2020 brush collection sponsored by the city of Moses Lake, Spring is here again, and cities are discussing when or if they will offer collection of yard debris.
MOSES LAKE — There are more hours of sun each day. It’s getting warmer. Time to get out in the yard and – wow. The yard could use some work.
Maybe it’s the leaves that escaped the pile last fall, or overgrown bushes, or cleaning all the stuff accumulated in the yard. Some local communities will offer help during spring cleanup, picking up debris or collecting it at a central dropoff point.
Lynne Lynch, communications and marketing specialist for the city of Moses Lake, said the city is postponing its normal spring event, hoping to offer it in the fall. But city crews will be picking up shrub trimmings, small tree limbs and other woody debris beginning the last week of March.
It will be the only brush pickup in Moses Lake in 2021.
The pickup date will depend on the address, and there’s a list of dates on the city’s website, www.cityofml.com.
Limbs and branches must be less than four inches in diameter and be at the curb and easily accessible to city crews. The material should be at the curb by Monday of the scheduled week.
Grass clippings, leaves, bagged or wrapped debris, nails or wire will not be accepted.
The city of Ephrata will stay with its scheduled fall pickup, said city employee Kari Chornuk. City officials encourage residents to cut back their shrubs in the spring if they’ve grown over the sidewalk, she said.
Mattawa city officials tentatively are scheduling a spring pickup, but haven’t nailed down all the details yet.
“We’re hoping for mid-April,” city clerk Anabel Martinez said.
There are some spring jobs perfect for early March, according to the This Old House website.
Homeowners should trim away dead or damaged branches from shrubs. Shaping hedges with hand pruners, rather than electric shears, helps prevent growth that keeps light and air out of the center of the shrub, the site says.
Flowering perennials also should get a haircut. Perennials should be trimmed to four to five inches, and ornamental grasses to two to three inches, to allow new growth to emerge. Winter-damaged roses should be trimmed back to one inch below the damaged area.
Flower beds and borders should get a cleanout, including raking out last year’s leftovers and pulling up dead annuals. All of last year’s plants are perfect candidates for a compost pile.
Leaves and branches larger than one-half inch in diameter should be shredded, the site says.
