City creates more places to dump debris

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - In response to so many people bringing tree debris to the biosolids facility in Fort Wayne, the center will extend its hours and make all residential drop-offs free.

The facility at 6210 Lake Ave., just west of Maplecrest Road, will be open this week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the exception of the July 4th holiday on Wednesday. It will close at 6 p.m. that day.

There were long lines there on Saturday, with 370 loads dropped off. John Clark, the deputy director of City Utilities, estimated Sunday's load count to be about the same.

"The debris will get ground up into mulch and blended with the biosolids out of the water treatment plant and it creates a compost that people use in gardens so we make it into a commodity," Clark said.

Trees and branches can also be taken to these other locations in the city:

• Parking lot at Swinney Park Pool
• Parking lot at Tillman Park, at the Tillman Road entrance
• Parking lot at Shoaff Park, near Conklin Pavilion

Even easier, the city will start picking up debris at the curb later this week. A schedule for curbside debris pick-up will be announced on Tuesday and will be available on the city's website . 

"People can see their section of the city for when pick-up is scheduled so they can have their debris out," Mayor Tom Henry said.

The city's parks department director reminded everyone that crews can't go on private property, so if there are items to be picked up, make sure they are on the curb. He estimated it could take around 90 days to get to every city street for debris collection.