Coopersburg Brush Pickup Returns to Borough April 25

After a hiatus, Coopersburg will allow residents to place brush outside their homes for pickup for one week beginning April 25. The program had been halted after residents began placing entire trees outside their homes for pickup. Because of the liberal use of the program, pickup dragged out multiple weeks and involved as many as five borough workers.

Borough Council expressed an interest in resuming the program. “[The brush pickup] is very popular. I would advocate its return,” said Councilman Dennis Balascak.

However, council felt the need to stress to the superintendent of the highway department, Dennis Nace, that the size of the brush acceptable for pickup as well as the one-week time limit would need to be strictly enforced. “This is not to be used for tree removal,” said Councilman Larry Pummer. “It’s for boundary brush.”

Others council members stressed time limits. “Enforce the time period,” said council president Gary Hovis.

Larger items should be brought to a compost site or recycling center, council said. “If something’s 12, 15, 17 inches in diameter, it can be taken to a compost site by a resident,” Pummer said.

Despite these statements, council did not enact specific restrictions in brush size. “[The conversation] is setting up a real vague [set of parameters]  here,” Nace said. “It’s going to cause a lot of phone calls.”

Nace also said it was not trees alone that slowed down brush pickup in the past. “It isn’t just the big stuff. I composted an entire truckload of chips at one property,” he said.

Council did say that it would place all of the restrictions and the times when the brush pickup would begin on the township website www.coopersburgborough.org as well as in the township newsletter as soon as the information was available.

Editor's Note: From the Coopersburg website; "Curbside Brush Pickup will be the week of April 25, 2011, for 1 week only. Please place your brush and small branches on the curb for pick. (Branches should be no more then 6" in diameter) Any questions please call the Borough Office Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 610-282-3307."