May 12 to the 17th is Spring Clean Up Week in the City of Yorkton. The annual program provides local residents the opportunity to clean up their properties and dispose of waste free of charge.
The initiative encourages residents to help improve the image of the city says Environmental Services Director Michael Buchholzer and it's been working well for the most part.
"This program has been well received... with 1,200 participants in 2014," says Buchholzer, adding landfill fees are waived during the week. There have a been a few issues however, causing the need for a few changes this year. "Unfortunately due to the overwhelming success it was difficult to monitor material entering the landfill, and possibly that was the cause of last year's landfill fire." A fire outbreak last year forced the closure of the landfill for two days and cost the city about $30,000.
"To alleviate some of these problems we are modifying the program for this year and will re-evaluate in 2015."
With new criteria in place and the program only being made available to local residents, Buchholzer says the following will apply...
- participants must present a valid driver's license with a civic Yorkton address (No box numbers)
- cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, half tons, and single axle trailers are eligible
- material being disposed of must be "winter debris"
"Winter debris will be identified as broken tree limbs, grass mixed with garbage and debris collected in your yard during the winter months. This program will not cover tree disposal, tree pruning, construction or demolition debris, household garbage such as furniture, lumber, rugs, beds, or household items."
Landfill operators will evaluate each load, the type of vehicle and address to determine if it is acceptable under the free program. Any loads not qualifying will be accepted but charged.
Spring Clean up hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Satur-day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
