Ever Wonder What Happens to All Our Leaves and Grass Clippings?

The sun's finally out and you've been outside, getting the yard ready for spring.

Those bags of yard debris the city picks up go to good use. The natural material takes about 18 months to decompose, but once it does, it turns into compost that East Providence residents can pick up for free to fertilize their gardens. 

In the video, the city's recycling coordinator takes us to the Forbes Street landfill in Riverside, where he shows us how the process works — from the garbage trucks that bring the material to the site, through the decomposition process and then to the final product. 

Residents can pick up compost on weekdays at the city's Public Works complex at 60 Commercial Way on Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

You can also ask the city to deliver three to five yards of compost for $50. For more information, call Mutter at 435-7710.