Loveland recycling center hopes to see more leaves as wind blows trees – Loveland Reporter-Herald

As the wind picks up and the leaves start to fall, the Loveland Solid Waste Team and the Loveland Recycling Center expect to see more people stop by the westside facility to add to the growing pile of garden waste.

Andrew Hansen, solid waste crew supervisor, said it’s been slow for people bringing leaves to dispose, but he hopes that will change soon.

“It’s been a slow but steady influx, kudos to the warm fall we’re having,” he said. “We haven’t seen a big wave yet. We expect our busiest weekend yet to be this weekend with yesterday’s wind.”

However, that doesn’t mean residents aren’t out to scoop up and throw away leaves from their or others’ yards. This includes several people with trailers full of leaves, dropping off from yards they tracked as part of a business.

Jared Gardner said he usually cleans lawns in Johnstown and dropped off a trailer load Tuesday afternoon, using the Loveland recycling center because “that’s the closest place.”

Jordan Wheeler, who runs JW Lawn Care, brought in three days worth of leaves from different lawns he’d worked on, shoveling piles of leaves from the back of a metal trailer into piles of yard waste. Wheeler said his typical truck, which has a crank that dumps the load in the back in one motion, was out of order, which meant he had to manually dump all the leaves.

“This is not the fun way,” he said, adding “desperate times, desperate measures.”

While he might handle 10 to 12 lawns for lawn care in other seasons, when the leaves fall, that’s down to just a few a day, he added.

“This time of year takes a little more time than the rest,” he said.

Leaves can be dropped off at the recycling center, 400 N. Wilson Ave., with a current yard waste permit and non-residents or commercial businesses can drop off leaves for $7.50 per cubic yard. Curbside waste will be collected until the end of November.