The City of Madison’s Yard Waste site just east of the city is starting to fill up.  City Streets, Solid Waste and Recycling Supervisor Gary Gonyo told Madison City Commissioners this week that the company that normally comes in and grinds up the pallets and trees hasn’t been there for a while to do it.  He said it’s because the ground items are then taken to area ethanol plants to be burned, but ethanol plants have been scaling back lately because of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Gonyo said this is a free service for the city, and they can’t use painted or pressed wood so those items should not be brought to the Yard Waste site.  Mayor Marshall Dennert suggested that the site stop accepting pallets altogether.

Gonyo said the city has to take out the wood that isn’t usable and take it to the city’s Restricted Use site west of the city.  He said that the only items that should be taken there currently are grass, tree branches, and pallets.

Gonyo said he told the company that the city could possibly store the grindings for them to help in the process, but said he hasn’t heard back from them on if that will be a viable option.