Carroll County has finally found a taker for the plastic-stippled grass clippings and metal-mingled wood chips that the government has had trouble giving away.
But the county commissioners will have to spend an estimated $28,000 a year to remove the plastic from the yard waste before a Randallstown lumber corporation takes it away.
County Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman estimated that 2,000 tons of grass clippings and wood chips have piled up at the county landfill in Reese since the county banned burial of yard waste in May.
That's 29 pounds of free mulch for each Carroll resident, but the county has been able to give it away.
"I believe more people would take it if it didn't have plastic in it," Mr. Curfman said. He said the county doesn't remove plastic bags before putting yard waste through grinders.
The mulch is not "cured" the way commercial mulch is, he said. Landscaping experts say mulch that has not finished decomposing takes nitrogen out of the soil and could kill plants.
Mr. Curfman estimated that by the end of one year of diverting yard waste and wood pieces from the landfill trenches, the county will have 6,000 tons of the material.
The wood chips are contaminated with metal because the county grinds up wooden pallets without removing the nails, Mr. Curfman said. He said the metal pieces are not a problem for the prospective hauler.
Commissioner Donald I. Dell tried some of the county's free mulch several months ago and decided not to go back for another load. "The stuff I got was pretty trashy," he said.
A county contract to remove the mulch mountain attracted six bidders. Mr. Curfman said the best offer came from Edrich Lumber Inc., which said it would haul the material away without charge if the county removed the plastic.
The commissioners agreed to hire mentally disabled workers to take yard waste out of the plastic bags at the landfill, at an estimated cost of $28,000.