
		Recycling Progress in Lancaster County
		Municipal Recycling Programs
		What You Can Recycle & Where
		Yard Waste Recycling & Composting
		Business Recycling
		Electronic Recycling
		Household Hazardous Waste Recycling
		FAQ
		Buy Recycled

		For more information contact us: Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority 1299 Harrisburg Pike PO Box 4425 Lancaster, PA 17604 Phone: 717-397-9968 Fax: 717-397-9973 Email: info@lcswma.org

Home Composting Program

Yard Waste Recycling

Home Composting Program

In 2004, the Authority teamed with Master Gardeners certified through Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, and municipalities and to begin a program unique in Pennsylvania to help residents make beneficial compost from their backyard and kitchen scraps.

In December 2005, this partnership program was one of only 23 programs in Pennsylvania that was recognized as outstanding in the field of recycling.

Home Compost Workshops are scheduled for the Fall 2008 and listed on the Calendar of Events.

Residents that enroll in the one hour workshops, held at various municipal locations throughout Lancaster County, are treated to the knowledge of the Master Gardeners about home composting. Municipal Recycling Coordinators register attendees and are on hand to answer local recycling questions. The Authority provides the advertising for the workshops and the home compost bins each household receives after attending a workshop.

For additional information, check out the PA DEP Website on Home Composting Compost, Resources for Home Composting

Yard Waste Recycling

In 2002, the Authority initiated a pilot curbside collection program for woody yard waste, and recycling opportunities for this material have been increasing ever since. The initiative really took off in 2004 as municipal curbside programs were implemented, making it easy for residents to recycle not only leaves and garden residue, but also shrubbery and tree trimmings. Currently, there are 39 curbside recycling programs that have some type of yard waste and/or leaf curbside collection program, and there are several drop-off locations throughout the County. In 2006, 28,700 tons of yard waste was recycled.

Lancaster residents are realizing the benefits of recycling their leaves and yard waste; not only are these materials taken out of the waste stream, but they are recycled into beneficial products such as compost or mulch that can return nutrients to the soil or be used in residential landscaping projects.

In addition to providing assistance to municipalities in implementing yard waste recycling programs, the Authority also provides a large wood shredder, and an operator, to any municipality that has a large amount of yard waste to process but doesn't have the means to do so. The material is fed through the machine (see pictures below) and turned it into a coarse mulch product that can be used by the municipality for their own landscape needs, given it to their residents or sold to landscaping companies.

Definitions of Yard Waste

Leaves = Special collections each fall

Yard waste = Includes: leaves, grass clippings, garden residue and sod

Woody yard waste = Shrubbery and tree trimmings (maximum branch diameter is 6")

Before putting this material out for collection, please contact your municipal office for specifics on your program.