Yard Waste Recycling at Buckhorn & Duncansville Facilities
The IRC offers yard waste recycling at the Buckhorn and Duncansville Facilities.
We are happy to accept bagged grass clippings as well as trimmings and garden refuse as part of our yard waste recycling services. Material may be loose, bundled with twine, or placed in paper bags. Be sure to use only paper bags which are available at most home improvement, hardware and garden stores. Brown kraft paper bags should be used; please do not tape or tie them shut. Simply fold the top of the bag.
Plastic bags are not permitted at any of the composting or municipal drop-offs. Plastic gets tangled up in our processing equipment and cannot biodegrade with the yard waste. Be sure your bagged material for yard waste recycling does not contain metal, plastic or other trash. We only accept organic material to be composted. It is important for residents unloading material to follow directions to ensure the quality of our finished material.
We do not accept material from residents or landscapers that use Imprelis. Please pay attention to traffic and directions when using our facilities.
Please see below for the different types of yard waste that are accepted and the related fee schedule for yard waste recycling drop-off at the compost facilities.
Leaves, Grass, Lawn Trimmings:
Three bags or less: Free
Small vehicle or standard pickup truck (6-8 ft bed): $5
Residential grass pass: $30 (allows residential drop off of grass, leaves, and soft garden trimmings during open hours at either of our facilities)
Woody Waste, Brush, Branches:
Small vehicle or standard pickup truck (6-8 ft bed): $10
Price for loaded trailer will be determined based on load composition and size.
Burning of Yard Trimmings
It is generally illegal to burn yard trimmings in a mandated recycling community. Besides leaves, this also includes tree and woody trimmings. State law requires that most yard trimmings must be composted and may not be burned. Besides being illegal, it is one of the most common causes of brush and forest fires. Leaf fires also emit large amounts particulate air pollution that complicate asthmatic and other breathing conditions.
Even if you don’t live in a mandated recycling community, we hope you’ll consider not burning (or at least minimizing what you burn). We welcome both individuals and businesses to our two composting facilities on the Buckhorn and just south of Duncansville.
Not sure on how to recycle?
If you are unsure as to how to recycle at our facility or need other recycling assistance please see an IRC employee. We frequently have special recycling events to accept different materials. To learn more about our special recycling events, or for other questions, please call our office at (814) 942-7472 or email education@ircenvironment.org.