SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane residents saved more than $47,000 by dropping off their downed trees for free during the city's tree debris program, following the record-setting October snowstorm that left streets and yards across much of Spokane littered with debris.
A total of 3,978 residents took advantage of the program, dumping 883 tons of material at the Spokane Waste to Energy Facility through Oct. 19, according to city spokeswoman Marlene Feist.
Normally, it costs $54 a ton to drop off debris.
The numbers don't count the massive amount of tree debris picked up by the city in places such as Manito Boulevard and in city parks. The city is still picking all of that debris up, but hopes to finish before November.
People are still able to bring material to the waste facility, Feist said, for a charge. Feist said most people pay $25 or less to drop off their debris.
Residents who subscribe to the city's clean green service can also use the green waste bins for debris, but it must not be sticking out of the bin during pick-up.
During the Spokane Waste to Energy Facility's free disposal program, many complained of long wait times.
Last weekend, a line to deposit fallen tree branches and limbs stretched outside of the facility on South Geiger Boulevard.
Some people reported waiting in line for three hours and others, like Joe Faulkner, waited in line more than once.
“I was here with a load yesterday and the line was all the way back to the entrance so I knew it was going to be bad but not this bad,” Faulkner said.
By the time people got to the gates of the facility, they still had to wait in another line to dump their debris.
