Special Newsletter: Tree Debris Collection – Tuesday May 16
This special newsletter is to provide you with an update on tree debris collection.
We have now entered the sixth week of recovery efforts following the April 5 ice storm event. We are beginning to see good progress on the collection of tree debris, but that progress has been slow in some areas of the city and there is still much to do. The progress has been particularly slow in Ward 9. As of today, only 11% of Ward 9 has had tree debris removed.
Our Public Works department recognizes that it is taking longer than expected to get through the cleanup. There are still several weeks of cleanup ahead of us, but crews are making every effort to get through it as quickly as we can. On Tuesday May 16, the City of Ottawa will mobilize the entire Parks & Recreation team to do a City-wide, one-day blitz of ALL locations that have yet to receive a single pass, including Ward 9. Crews will collect everything they can and make an inventory of all addresses that may have debris too large to collect. We’ll come back at a later date with chippers for those. On Monday, we will also begin collecting leaf and yard waste separately from green bin collection which will help to clean up smaller debris piles throughout the city.
It is important to remember that all crews will do a single pass to collect storm-related debris. Residents are asked to leave their tree debris in bundles close to the curb, where tree branches are not longer than 4’. Should some smaller debris be left behind, we encourage and thank residents for collecting it and leaving it on the curb for regular leaf and yard waste removal which begins May 15. After the single pass is complete, it will be the homeowner’s responsibility to remove debris that is too large for the Leaf and Yard Waste Program.