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Yard Waste, Brush and Organics History/Trends: Yard Waste: Minnesota banned burning yard waste effective January 1, 1971 and banned putting yard waste in with your garbage effective January 1, 1990. Prior to the bans residents were allowed to dispose of yard waste as they disposed of any other garbage. However the yard waste contributed greatly to overburdening landfills and straining the Resource Recovery Facility in Newport. As a result of the bans Roseville and Ramsey County enacted programs and policies to deal with yard waste disposal. In response to the ban on putting yard waste in with other solid waste Roseville required all licensed garbage haulers to offer separate yard waste and/or brush collection. In this report we will define yard waste as grass clippings and other soft-bodied plants. Brush is considered to be tree branches and other woody materials. Twenty percent of homeowners said in a 2002 survey they arrange a special yard waste pickup with their hauler. Forty-three percent arrange a special pickup for their brush. Some residents set out separate bags containing their yard waste and/or brush; others have separate wheeled carts they use to hold their yard waste and/or brush. Some residents use the service infrequently and pay per picicup. Others contract yearly or seasonally. One hauler, Walters, does not charge extra for yard waste disposa] and one homeowner in the resident survey said that is why he chose Walters to be his garbage hauler. One resident in a focus group of homeowners said he switched garbage haulers because the one he originally had refused to arrange a special pickup of his yard waste. Haulers take that yard waste and brush to a variety of locations that they list on their annual license applications. Four send all or part to S.K.B. Environmental in St. Paul, two to the NRG compost facility in Rosemount, two to Burberl Compost in Stillwater, one to Nick Ries Farms in Hastings, one to J&J Recycling in St. Paul, one lists only "Compost Facility" and one does not list where yard waste and brush are taken. In l 983 Ramsey County opened seven compost sites where residents may drop off yard waste for free. Brush and food waste are not accepted at these sites. Brush decomposes too slowly to managed through composting at these sites. The sites were not designed to manage food waste as it done at private food waste compost sites. In 2000, there were 353,000 drop offs at the sites. Eleven percent of Roseville homeowners surveyed in 2002 said they used a County compost site to drop offtheir leaves, 14% used the sites to drop offtheir yard waste. Material is composted on site at three locations. Material collected at the other four sites is taken to commercial compost/land application sites. The yard waste sites are in danger of running out of room or of losing their leases. An eighth compost site in Maplewood that opened in 1984 was closed in 2000. Mounds View wants Ramsey County to close the site there. The Midway site is in danger of losing its lease when it .�