Located on the northern extreme of the subtropic zone, the city of St. Petersburg, Florida has a nine-month growing season. That makes yard trimmings processing a priority for Jim Ragsdale, mulch program coordinator for the city's Sanitation Department, which accepts yard trimmings and wood residuals from residents and its own parks department.
Landscapers can drop off materials if they are accompanied by their residential customer.
Yard trimmings are collected at six drop-off sites. They are then delivered to the processing area, where a contractor runs them through a Mighty Giant hammermill tub grinder. The contract requires that no more than five percent of the ground product be over four inches long. Depending on market demand, some of the mulch may be piled up for up to a year. Most is moved well before then to an adjacent site, where it is placed in windrows about 24 feet wide, ten feet high and 150 feet long.