Carts to Help in Keeping it Green
Along with a new year, 2024 is also bringing in a new way of collecting yard waste in Holly Springs. Residents can expect to automatically receive a brown yard waste cart in January or February. Beginning in March, fill the cart with lawn clippings, leaves, sticks, and other types of yard waste, and place the cart behind the curb on the same day as recycling collection.
Because yard waste carts will keep waste out of storm drains that empty into local waterways, the initiative is part of the Town’s “Keeping it Green in Holly Springs” campaign.
“It’s not unusual to see grass clippings and all the lawn chemicals they carry, along with other yard waste, in the gutters along roads throughout Town,” said Holly Springs Public Works Director Paige Scott. “When it rains, the water can carry the waste and any pesticides or treatments into storm drains that flow into Holly Springs creeks, ponds, and lakes.”
The new yard waste cart collection will reduce this environmental damage, along with preventing flooding from storm drains clogged with yard waste that has washed into them.
Benefits of using carts for yard waste collection also include less pollen and dust in the spring as the fine particles cannot be contained in vacuum trucks. Meanwhile, the carts will provide residents with more efficient collection.
“Residents have been asking for a cleaner way of collecting yard waste, especially in the spring with all the pollen,” Paige said. “Yard waste carts are one way of addressing that request.”
Scott says that one of the most frequently asked questions about yard waste carts she receives is: “Where should I put all my leaves that won’t fit inside the cart in the fall and winter?”
“Next November through February, we will deploy our leaf vacuum trucks in addition to cart pickup to ensure all the leaves are cleaned up as efficiently as possible,” she said. During peak leaf season, residents can place all the leaves they can fit into their carts for scheduled collection every other week, and excess leaves will be picked up by Town leaf vacuum trucks on a zone schedule.
“We want to reassure residents in older neighborhoods with mature trees that Town crews monitor neighborhoods with high leaf volumes,” Scott said. “The Town will continue to address these areas as needed to make sure streets remain passable.”
Last year, Holly Springs kicked off its “Keeping it Green” yard waste campaign with the opening of the Town’s first-ever yard waste convenience center off Rex Road. There, residents can drop off any amount of yard waste at no additional cost. The yard waste convenience center is open every Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Details: hollyspringsnc.gov/convenience. For more information about yard waste carts, visit hollyspringsnc.gov/yardwastecart. Or, during business hours, call 311 or (919) 577-3111 if outside Town limits.
