Fees Increasing At Leavenworth Brush Yard

Upper Valley residents using Chelan County's brush drop-off site on East Leavenworth Road will be charged more for disposing of yard waste this year.

Commissioner Shon Smith says the fee increase was necessary to keep the site open and fiscally sustainable.

"We were under the threat of shutting it down because the costs have risen so much with the hourly wages to keep employees up there to work the site. So we've had to raise the prices by five dollars over last year, which will now make it twenty-five dollars per cubic yard or a twenty-five dollar minimum fee for drop offs under that amount."

The Leavenworth brush drop-off site collects and disposes of yard debris, leaves, tree trimmings, and garden waste.

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Smith says many residents in the Upper Valley depend on the facility since much of western Chelan County - including Leavenworth, Plain and Lake Wenatchee, is under an Apple Maggot Quarantine and state law prohibits brush from leaving the quarantine zone.

"That is an area where we have to handle brush and tree limbs very carefully so that we don't spread the apple maggot down the valley. I don't know that there's been a big uptick in apple maggots in the Upper Valley but we're concentrating on keeping the brush and other yard debris in the Upper Valley."

The County had planned to open the Leavenworth brush drop-off site for the season this week but has decided to delay its opening until the area around the site can dry out from recent rains.

Once operational, the brush yard will be open on Fridays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. this year.
Only refuse from vegetation is accepted at the site and no rocks, dirt, sod, lumber or garbage is allowed.

In the interim, residents can also drop off yard waste at Winton Manufacturing Compost Works, 17400 Winton Road, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The County's Dryden Transfer Station is located in a pest-free area and does not accept yard waste from inside the Apple Maggot Quarantine zone.