Mulch madness – what the plans to do with all those damaged trees

14 million kilograms and rising.

That’s how much tree debris the city has collected so far in more than 20,000 loads taken from 97 Calgary communities.

But even with that much debris from the September storm, the city is determined to keep the bulk of it out of landfills.

The city plans to turn it into mulch and return it to parks and trails next spring or summer.

Some may also be composted.

Dave Griffiths, the director of Waste & Recycling Services says “we are turning the destruction of this storm into something positive”.

Griffiths says the logistics for such a massive mulching program will be determined over the winter, after all the debris has been collected.

In the meantime, city landfills will continue to waive fees for tree debris until November 9th.

And most leaf and pumpkin drop-off locations will continue to accept debris – also until the 9th.

And as of this Monday, October 6th, landfills will return to normal hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.