El Dorado County Fire Safe Council

The mission of EI Dorado County Fire Safe Council is to protect the people of EI Dorado County and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire through education, cooperation, innovation and action.

Green Waste Programs

Community Green Waste Dumpster Program

GREEN  WASTE DUMPSTER PROGRAM SUSPENDED

Due to a lack of funds the dumpster program has been suspended.  The program has been funded by a USFS Grant administered by the California State Fire Safe Council for the last several years.   We (The El Dorado County Fire Safe Council) applied for continued funding but our grant request was not approved.  We also applied for a CAL FIRE SRA (Fire Fee) Grant but our project was not selected.  Unfortunately we are forced to suspend this very popular and beneficial program. We regret any inconvenience this program disruption may cause, and encourage residents to continue to maintain defensible space around their homes.  You can hire a chipping contractor or there are alternative means of disposing of green waste, including vouchers from El Dorado Disposal and curbside pick-up of bundled twigs and bags of needles and leaves.  See your El Dorado Disposal mailer for details. We will aggressively pursue other funding sources and will restart the program as soon as possible.  Please check this web page for update information.

Background:

In previous grants we have been allowed to estimate the labor hours community members spent in preparing material for the dumpster. These hours were the basis for the “in kind” match requirements of the grant. The new grant requires the community members certify their hours in a form that can be audited and verified.

Dumpsters are about ten times as expensive per yard as chipping. Dumpsters are to be used for material that cannot be chipped such as small twigs, leaves and pine needles.

Pros:

  • Dumpsters do have a valid purpose to further our objectives of having property owners take responsibility for their property.
  • Dumpsters assist in this effort when used effectively.
  • Community clean up days increase community involvement and awareness. They promote fire safe activity and community unity.
  • We will have better fiscal control and will be able to serve more communities in the county.

Cons:

  • The Council cannot afford to place dumpsters at a single location for extended periods.
  • Cost is excessive.
  • Potential for abuse (landscapers / contractors) is great.
  • Additional administrative burden on the community and the EDCFSC

Policy (based on the above):

Green waste dumpsters will be provided to communities who sponsor community clean up days.

The event must be broadly advertised within the community for at least one month in advance and be open to all members of the community.

A copy of the promotion needs to be provided to EDCFSC with the dumpster application. The promotional material (flyer or email) must not be distributed and the cleanup day should not be announced until the application is approved by the Fire Safe Council.

Mobile home parks, home owners associations and community service districts that collect fees or rent from their residents for the purpose of trash and green waste removal are not eligible for this program.

A maximum of two green waste dumpsters will be provided for a maximum of two weeks once per year. The dumpsters can be emptied when filled, normally once each week. A maximum of 6 dumpsters per community per year may be provided. A typical schedule would have dumpsters delivered on a Thursday or Friday, request for change out, if full, on Monday or Tuesday. Change out would occur on Wednesday or Thursday, the dumpsters would remain in place until full or until the end of the two week period.

Community Responsibilities:

  1. The community must designate an individual and an alternate that will be responsible for the dumpsters (Community Dumpster Monitors). They must meet with a representative from the Fire Safe Council and sign an agreement to monitor and control the dumpster use.
  2. The monitors will be provided two large signs to be displayed on the dumpster(s). The signs will have two “information” boxes mounted on them. One box will contain blank forms that the users of the dumpster must The other box will be for the completed forms. These forms are essential to collect data required for the “in kind” match from the community for the grant award.
  3. The monitor will provide specific dumpster location information for the delivery drivers and the community members.
  4. All communications from the Community Dumpster Monitors will be through the EDCFSC Dumpster Manager. The EDCFSC Dumpster Manager will communicate with the disposal company. Under no circumstances will the Community Dumpster Monitor communicate directly with the disposal company.
  5. The Community Dumpster Monitors will collect and review the user forms before requesting a dumpster “swap out” or removal. They will make sure the forms are complete and correlate with the volume of material in the dumpster. This is necessary to create an audit trail for the federal funders.
  6. The Community Dumpster Monitors will ensure there is no inappropriate material in the dumpster that the material is compressed, and the dumpsters are not overfilled. They will coordinate with the EDCFSC Dumpster Manager to make sure that the dumpsters are emptied when necessary and removed promptly at the conclusion of the cleanup period.
  7. When the dumpsters are removed the Community Dumpster Monitors will return the signs and the completed forms to the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council representative.

El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) Responsibilities:

  1. The EDCFSC will manage the dumpster grant within the grant and financial parameters. The program manager will complete all funding requests, financial and program reports and verify matching documentation.
  2. The EDCFSC will contract with the appropriate disposal companies for service on the western slope.
  3. The EDCFSC dumpster manager will coordinate with communities and schedule dumpster deliveries.
  4. The EDCFSC program manager will verify the numbers of dumpsters and authorize payment to the vendors.
  5. The EDCFSC program manager will monitor expenditures to ensure the program remains within budget and that cash flows are appropriate.

Click here to download an application form for this program.

This form can be submitted by email to board@edcfiresafe.org or by mail to:

  • El Dorado County Fire Safe Council
  • P.O. Box 1011
  • Diamond Springs, CA 95619

Don’t forget to include a copy of your Community Clean-up Promotion flyer.


 

For information about other programs, contact the local disposal company serving your area: