'Spring has sprung': Massive curbside cleanup underway across the Island

Spring cleaning is underway, and as Islanders haul bags of leaves, bundles of twigs and piles of household items to the curb, Island Waste Management has begun the huge task of collecting it all.

"We collect about 500,000 bags of leaves a year, so it's quite a bit of volume of leaves," said Gerry Moore, CEO of Island Waste Management.

"We start in the first week in compost, then we follow that with a waste week, and then, if someone is a little late raking and getting their yard debris up, then we follow that up on the 15thfor the final week of compost collection."

'No heavier than 50 pounds'

Moore said there are some guidelines that should be followed.

"Place the bags of yard debris in paper bags and your sticks should be tied and bundled if there's multiple sticks, and no longer than four feet and no heavier than 50 pounds," he explained.

With over 78,000 households to collect from, bags mustbe placed at the curb at 7 a.m. on the week of collection, but there isn't a limit on how manybags you can leave.

Multiple bundles of twigs and sticks should be tied together with string or tape, never wire.

Week two, meantime, will includewaste not included in black cart collection.

"Things like it could be children's toys, swing sets,electronics, tires, large household items like fridges and stoves and mattresses and all metal products. We do not collect them on the waste week," Moore said.

'Yards cleaned up'

Metal itemscan be placed with blue bag collection on a monthly basis, and any large items including electronicscan be taken into any Island Waste drop off centre.

Those 500,000bags or leaves, sticks and twigs, will be ground into compost, then combined with other green organics to create fertilizer used by farmers.

"You take a drive around P.E.I. in the springtime and when people have their yards cleaned up, it certainly makes a big difference in appearance to everybody's property," said Moore.

"Spring has sprung on P.E.I. and we're looking forward to our spring cleanup completed over the next three weeks."

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