Yard waste will be picked up starting Monday

Did you celebrate the first day of spring by having to mow the yard? If you live in Batavia, the good news is you can dispose of the grass clippings a week early.

Waste hauler Veolia noticed a lot of people were starting to put out bags of yard waste at the curb, even though pickup wasn't due to start until April 2. So it has decided to start picking it up Monday.

“It is just kind of a good gesture out of our waste hauler,” said Scott Haines, Batavia's streets division superintendent.

This applies only to yard waste. Brush pickup still doesn't start until May. It used to start in April and end in October, but last year the city pushed it back, to start in May and end in November. It did so because people complained that they still were doing yard work and picking up branches after storms in November, and few people were putting out brush in April, Haines said.

North Aurora residents can also start putting their yard waste out, as the village has asked Waste Management to bump up collection. The weird weather lately has brought several other changes to Haines' division's schedule. The money saved on not using road salt may be spent instead on extra lawn cutting on 150 pieces of city property (including lawns around the Batavia Government Center and some detention ponds). Crews have also been out doing parkway tree trimming.

But Haines hasn't pulled all the snowplows and salt spreaders off public works trucks yet, “on the remote chance” we get some snow.