The August 11 windstorm that knocked out power to more than 200,000 central Ohio customers left an enormous amount of debris on the ground. Mayor Andrew Ginther declared a state of emergency the following day and pointed to the 82 mph winds recorded at John Glenn International Airport. Another round of storms over the weekend has added even more debris.
In this guide
Getting the branches off your lawn can be more complicated than you might expect. Every central Ohio suburb handles things differently, and several of the programs running right now are one-time clean-ups. Here is what each community is doing, taken from the cities’ own service pages.
Three deadlines are worth highlighting up front. Upper Arlington’s chipping crews make a single pass and will not return to a street they have finished. Whitehall’s city chipper only runs on scheduled dates, with August 31 the next one after this week. Hilliard’s regular chipper season ends September 24.
City of Columbus
Columbus has not announced a special citywide debris sweep. Storm branches go out with regular yard waste collection, which means they have to meet the normal rules: branches under four inches in diameter, cut to less than four feet, tied into bundles with string or twine that are less than two feet wide. Every bag, bundle or container has to weigh under 50 pounds, and yard waste needs to sit at least three feet away from your refuse and recycling containers, hydrants and mailboxes.
Anything thicker than four inches will not be collected at the curb, which is where the drop-off centers come in. To find your collection day, call 311 at 614-645-3111.
The two Columbus drop-off centers
The city runs two Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers that take yard waste free of charge:
- Alum Creek Waste and Reuse Convenience Center, 2100 Alum Creek Drive, Columbus
- Georgesville Waste and Reuse Convenience Center, 1550 Georgesville Road, Columbus
Both are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and both are closed Sunday and Monday, so plan ahead if you’ll be cleaning up over a weekend. The next holiday closure is Tuesday, September 8 for Labor Day.
They accept bushes, stalks, tree branches, untreated wood chips, vines, weeds without dirt and leaves. Two limits matter: the centers are open only to Columbus residents bringing material from their own homes, and they aren’t available to commercial businesses or landscaping companies. If a tree service cut it down, the tree service owns the disposal.
Bexley
Bexley ran a citywide limb pickup after the March windstorm, but as of this week the city has not posted an equivalent program for the August storms. That means regular collection rules apply. Rumpke picks up trash, recycling and yard waste on Mondays. Residents with alleys put trash and bulk items in the alley and place recycling and yard waste in the tree lawn, while residents without alleys put everything in the tree lawn. Missed collections have to be reported before 2 p.m. Tuesday. The Service Department is at 614-559-4220.
Dublin
Dublin’s curbside chipper service is by request, and it’s generous: the machine takes branches up to 12 inches in diameter. Trimmings need to be at least five feet long, and there is no maximum length, since longer pieces are easier for crews to handle. Pile everything within five feet of the curb or at the end of the driveway with the cut ends pointed toward the street.
You can make the request through the city’s online service request, the GoDublin app, or the 24-hour hotline at 614-410-4780. Service normally comes within one to seven business days depending on your zone, though the city has reported higher than usual volume since the storms. The catch is a one truckload per household limit, and the chipper takes tree and shrub clippings only.
Gahanna
Yard waste goes out on your normal collection day. Branches must be less than four inches in diameter and cut to four feet or shorter, bundled with string or twine, with bundles no more than two feet across and each bundle, bag or container under 50 pounds.
For anything larger, the city points residents to Ohio Mulch’s Universal Road location, which SWACO reported was taking large branches and logs. Gahanna’s own advice is to call ahead before driving over, because facilities dealing with high volume may send you somewhere else.
Grandview Heights
Yard waste is collected Mondays for Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff, from the first Monday in April through the last Monday in November. Tree limbs and shrubbery need to be cut and bundled with biodegradable twine, with bundles no more than two feet in diameter, four feet long, and 50 pounds. Bags top out at 30 gallons and 50 pounds. If you use a refuse container it needs a “Yard Waste” sticker, has to weigh under 40 pounds full, and limbs can’t stick up more than 12 inches above the rim.
Bundles go next to the alley, or behind the curb if there is no alley, and nothing should go out earlier than an hour before sunset on Sunday. Dirt-covered roots will not be taken. The Service Department is at 1260 McKinley Avenue, Grandview Heights.
Hilliard
Hilliard crews have been working zone by zone since the storm, and what you should do depends on whether they have already reached you. If crews have not been through your neighborhood yet, place branches along the curb and leave them; no ticket is needed. If crews have already passed and you have more to get rid of, submit a Hilliard Helps ticket and they will make another pass.
The regular on-demand chipper service runs Mondays through September 24, with requests due by 2:30 p.m. the Friday before. Limbs longer than four feet or thicker than four inches go in the tree lawn between the curb and sidewalk. Logs bigger than 10 inches in diameter are not accepted at all. Smaller material goes out with Tuesday yard waste, in bundles no larger than four feet by two feet with branches two inches or less.
Reynoldsburg
No special storm collection has been posted, so Local Waste Services rules govern. Brush has to be tied in bundles no larger than four feet by two feet, with branches two inches or less in diameter. Loose yard waste goes in biodegradable brown paper bags or containers clearly marked “Yard Waste Only,” set a few feet away from your other materials so crews can tell it apart. The Service Department is at 614-322-6800.
Upper Arlington
Upper Arlington started a Curbside Chipping Program on Monday, August 17, and it’s the most time-sensitive program in the region. City crews make one pass through the community. Once they have finished your street they will not come back, so the city’s storm cleanup map is worth checking before you drag anything to the curb.
The limits are generous: branches up to 10 inches in diameter and up to 12 feet long. The city specifically asks residents not to cut branches into small pieces, because intact limbs run through the chippers more easily. Bring them as close to the street as possible without blocking the sidewalk or putting anything in the street. Tree debris only, so no fencing or other damaged property, no containers of debris, and no lawn clippings or landscaping trimmings.
After crews have made their pass, the rules flip completely. Anything left over has to be cut down to four or five feet, bundled with twine, kept under 50 pounds per bundle, and set out on your regular trash and recycling day. Questions go to 614-583-5340.
One more thing for Upper Arlington residents: the city is telling people not to haul debris to the Ohio Mulch facility on Roberts Road until further notice, because it has been accepting storm debris from public cleanup crews only.
Westerville
Westerville has not posted a special storm collection, and its standard yard waste limits are the tightest around: twigs and branches up to two inches in diameter, cut into four-foot lengths and tied with twine. Branches larger than two inches are not taken with yard waste at all.
The exception worth knowing is street trees. If a tree or limb in the tree lawn came down in the storm, the city will remove it once notified. Call Parks Maintenance at 614-901-6590 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or the police non-emergency line at 614-882-7444 after hours. Anything that fell from your own property is yours to deal with.
Whitehall
Local Waste Services collects brush and tree limbs on every Wednesday trash day from April through October. Limbs have to be cut to four feet or shorter and bundled with twine, no more than two feet across.
Beyond that, Whitehall runs its own chipper on scheduled dates rather than on request. It handles the brush Local Waste Services won’t take, as manpower allows. The remaining dates this year are August 17, August 31, September 14 and September 28. Logs or stumps bigger than 14 inches in diameter or longer than three feet can’t be collected, and if you hired a tree service, removal is your responsibility. The city will not haul away whole trees cut down by a resident or a contractor. Call 614-338-3100.
Worthington
No special storm program has been posted here either. Collection happens every Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and everything must be at the curb by 6 a.m. Friday, with nothing set out before 6 a.m. Thursday. Brush has to be tied in bundles no larger than four feet by two feet with branches two inches or less in diameter. Local Waste Services can be reached at 614-409-9375, and the city’s Service and Engineering Department is at 614-431-2425.
Hauling it yourself
Ohio Mulch allows Franklin County homeowners to drop yard waste free at two locations, 4120 Roberts Road and 1600 Universal Road, as long as the load is clean. Soil, treated lumber, railroad ties, construction material, concrete and plastic bags of any kind will trigger a charge, currently $69 for a standard drop-off. Paper yard waste bags are fine; plastic bags are never allowed.
Upper Arlington is advising its residents to stay away from the Roberts Road location for now, and Gahanna is telling people to call before visiting any facility, since a site taking on high volume may redirect you. The Roberts Road number is 614-921-9330 and Universal Road is 614-445-4455. Ohio Mulch also notes that its yard waste pricing moves with demand, and demand is high right now.
If you came through this better than your neighbors did, Columbus Navigator’s guide to helping central Ohio recover from the storms covers where donations and volunteer hours are going.
