There’s an afterlife for all the vegetative debris being picked up from New Hanover County in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
 
Some debris can be used as boiler fuel in electrical generating plants, and some can be ground up to create low-grade mulch, according to New Hanover County Environmental Management Director Joe Suleyman.
 
All post-storm material is being collected by Alabama-based DRC Emergency Services, with whom the county contracts for its regular yard waste collections, Suleyman said. All materials DRC collects become that company’s property, and it sells them although markets for vegetative debris “have been flooded even before the hurricane came along,” Suleyman added.
 
“My guess is that the market is flooded with vegetative debris because of all of the land clearing due to the massive amount of development in the region,” he said. 
 
The city of Wilmington, which normally uses its own crews to pick up yard waste, has also contracted with DRC to help handle the 80,000-100,000 cubic yards of extra debris officials estimate resulted within city borders from Matthew’s high winds.
 
“This week, city Parks and Solid Waste crews are picking up loose piles of limbs and larger debris in the greater downtown area and city yard waste crews are picking up on their regular routes,” city spokeswoman Malissa Talbert stated in an email sent early Thursday afternoon, adding that DRC collections in Wilmington will begin next week.

Wilmington residents can follow the status of pickup progress online at wilmingtonnc.gov/storm. The site will be updated daily, Talbert's email stated.
 
DRC collections in other parts of the county will begin Monday, Suleyman said, estimating there will be another 35,000-50,000 cubic yards of debris in portions of the county outside the city of Wilmington.
 
“DRC will haul all the debris collected to their own sites that they have permitted through N.C. DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality],” Suleyman said.  
 
County residents who wish to clean up their property instead of waiting for contract crews can bring it to the county landfill without charge, if they act fast.
 
“We are waiving fees for regular yard debris through Saturday,” Suleyman said. “That is just for vegetative matter – no roofing shingles or other materials.”
 
There’s new life for yard waste brought to the landfill: County workers grind it up, mix it half-and-half with sand and let it degrade for at least two years. By that time, it’s a rich humus and can be used to finish off full cells at the landfill, which must be topped off with 6 inches of topsoil, according to Suleyman.
 
Using this home-grown humus eliminates the need to import topsoil, which is expensive, he said, adding that the humus “grows grass like gangbusters.”
 

City and county pickup guidelines are similar:

Make sure tree limbs are no longer than 12 feet
Do not bag loose yard waste in plastic bags; they will not be picked up
Do not mix in non-organic items, such as roofing tiles or other construction materials       
Yard waste should not be placed in the street and should not block water meters, fire hydrants, storm drains or obstruct the view of motorists.