Fall cleanup inside and out

While autumn foliage on the East End may be lovely to look at, it’s not as pretty when it comes to cleaning up those dried leaves and twigs from the yard.

This time of year (in addition to spring) also seems to be the period when everybody’s pack rat instincts fall out of favor and old furniture and various items literally get kicked to the curb. So how to dispose of all that stuff?

When it comes to getting rid of refuse, Paul DiMaria, environmental facilities manager with the Town of Southampton’s Waste Management Department, said the town’s website (town.southampton.ny.us) is one of the best sources for local people to find out all about waste removal and dump site policies, schedules and fees.

In Southampton, residents can dispose of leaves at the Hampton Bays and North Sea recycling facilities year-round without paying a fee. But keep in mind that leaves must be loose or removed from bags and free of animal waste, wood, branches, twigs, grass clippings, hedge clippings and stones.

Leaves and brush are accepted at the Westhampton recycling and transfer station only during specific fall and spring cleanup times. There is also a recycling center in Sag Harbor, but leaves and brush are not accepted there.

The Town of Southampton’s fall cleanup schedule runs from November 15 to December 31. The spring schedule runs from April 15 to May 31. The town has not yet set dates for curbside leaf removal.

Mr. DiMaria said that Southampton Town residents could dispose of brush—which might include small trees, bushes, twigs and branches—at the Hampton Bays and North Sea recycling facilities, year-round for a fee. But, he noted that during spring and fall cleanup periods, brush disposal is free of charge for residents at all the appropriate facilities.

Mr. DiMaria reported that brush can have branches up to 3 inches in diameter but must be free of larger pieces of wood and grass clippings. He added that big logs and stumps are not accepted.

Fees for disposing of brush generally range from $5 to $15, depending on the size of the load. In addition to never accepting grass clippings, stumps and logs, Southampton Town will also not take land-clearing debris, large trees or animal waste at any of its recycling centers, according to the town website.

Even though it’s not quite fall cleanup time yet, one local resident said the price to pay to dump unwanted lawn debris now is worth it.

During a recent trip to the transfer station, Southampton resident Clayton Mitropoulos hauled dried remains of a small dogwood tree out of the back of his vintage 1962 Ford Falcon Ranchero into a pile of brush debris at Southampton’s North Sea recycling center. Mr. Mitropoulos said that he dumps unwanted items at the refuse site between three and four times a year.

“I come whenever I have to come,” he said. “It was $10 for this load, which is pretty reasonable for a 20-foot dogwood tree. I’d say it was a bargain.”

The Town of East Hampton provides two facilities for waste removal—the East Hampton Recycling Center and the Montauk Transfer Station.

According to the Town of East Hampton website (town.east-hampton.ny.us), residential recycling is offered daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and commercial recycling is available from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. There is no charge for disposing of leaves at either waste disposal site as long as residents have a recycling permit, which costs $70 annually.

John North, senior scale operator for the East Hampton Town’s Sanitation Department, said that non-permit holders would be charged $7 for residents and $15 for commercial operators. Brush disposal is charged 6 cents a pound, or $120 a ton, for both residents and commercial operators, according to Mr. North.

And for all those unused electronics, Southampton Town has recently added a new “e-waste” facility at the North Sea and Hampton Bays Recycling Centers.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website, discarded electronics may contain hazardous or toxic substances and should be disposed of appropriately. Types of e-waste that the recycling center accepts during regular hours of operation include desktop and laptop computers; televisions, including those with cathode ray tubes, LCD screens or plasma screens; business equipment such as copiers, monitors, fax machines and printers; and stereo systems and speakers.

And for those concerned about resale or privacy issues, all data residing or contained in the items at the e-waste facility is completely destroyed and no portion of that material is resold for re-use as a functioning component, according to the town’s website. Fees at the e-waste site are typically $5 per item, depending on size.

Mr. DiMaria also advised to properly dispose of batteries—which can contain hazardous components such as mercury, cadmium, lead or lithium—including batteries for motor vehicles, hearing aids, watches, computers and the like.

Batteries containing hazardous components can also be disposed of at no cost to residents during the Town of Southampton’s Stop Throwing Out Pollutants (STOP) Days. Southampton Town offers four collection days for residential household hazardous waste, with each of the town’s four recycling centers hosting one event apiece. The final STOP Day for Southampton Town residents this year is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hampton Bays.

East Hampton offers STOP days as well. The next East Hampton Town STOP Day will be at the Montauk Transfer Station on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

During the collection day events, residents may bring such items as oil-based paints, pesticides, household cleaners, automotive fluids, pool chemicals, photo chemicals, wet cell batteries, etc. State and federal environmental law strictly prohibits commercial waste and household products deemed toxic to be accepted at the town facilities, except during STOP events.

Seth Farrell, who works for Southampton Town as a sanitation helper, said he hopes to be scheduled to work the next STOP event at the Hampton Bays Recycling Center later this month, just to see what people bring in. He reported that he has been at similar STOP events and is amazed at the types of extremely toxic materials residents have kept in their homes for years, even decades.

“It’s just bizarre what some people bring in,” Mr. Farrell said. “If you come down, you’ll see some very interesting liquids ... People come down with gallons of mercury, very lethal pesticides and herbicides that haven’t been on the open market since the 1960s or so, and these people just have them under their sinks and what not.”

Mr. Farrell said that town workers do not handle any of the toxic materials. He reported that experts from the Department of Environmental Conservation, who are used to dealing with hazardous waste, come to take care of the actual disposal.

Remembering past STOP events, Mr. Farrell recalled that “little old ladies” have come toddling up to him with jugs of chemicals that are not just noxious and vile, but downright deadly.

“They just walk up to us ... ‘What can I do with this?’” he said in a crackly falsetto voice before returning to his own deeper tone. “And I’m like, lady,” he added while showing his reaction of raising his open hands and turning his head and backing away. “These guys come over in Hazmat suits and take it from her. Some people just have no idea how dangerous this stuff is.”

Emil Norsic & Son, Inc. President Skip Norsic, whose sanitation service business in Southampton has been serving the East End for 75 years, said there are other dangers people should consider when looking to dispose of heavy objects. He noted that since autumn tends to be a time when people replace water heaters and furnaces, that it’s best to call a professional in to remove old, heavy heating units.

“We have torches and we’ll come in and cut up old boilers and furnaces or whatever,” Mr. Norsic said, noting that many heating units can weigh in excess of 500 pounds. “You need to be careful, you don’t want something like that falling on you.”

Mr. Norsic said that customers must first have the heating units drained of all oil or gas before his company will take charge of removing the old systems. He noted that prices for such jobs vary, but that his company offers free assessments.

In three quarters of a century of hauling refuse, Mr. Norsic said that four generations of his family have seen their share of unusual waste removal requests, which include dead deer and grand pianos.

“We don’t handle the deer,” he said. “We’ll take the pianos.”