News
FH Amended Brush And Leaves Collection
By Ryan Fennell
FAIR HAVEN - The Borough of Fair Haven introduced several ordinances on Monday night to amend its policies regarding the pick-up of leaves and brush.
The amendments include more specific definitions of what constitutes leaves and brush.
According to the amendment "leaves and grass do not constitute brush."
In the amendment leaves have been defined to include "vegetative material, typically generated in the autumn when they fall from trees and then are raked from residents' and/or commercial lawns."
Also among the amendments is the prohibition of grass clippings, rakings and plantings from the regular pickup of brush and leaves.
"You've created another Kafka-esque situation under plantings," Fair Haven resident Ruth Blazer said. "Where in limbo are these planting going if they're not going to the landfill and not being picked up by the Borough? What do we do with them?"
Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre suggested that the residents follow the policy of neighboring Rumson that requires residents to contract the plantings to be picked up and removed from the borough.
Resident Peter O'Such felt that the Borough was being unwise and went as far as to call the amendment "foolish".
"I think the Borough is being unwise and foolish because as opposed to hiring a contractor to haul it out of town, people are being forced to become lawbreakers and they are putting it in plastic bags and its going into the trash," O'Such said. "I think they'd be better off to have a pick-up for planting which would be done possibly at the end of October or beginning of November when people are pulling out their tomato plants and summer plantings that are so important for the all important streetscape."
Another suggestion by Halfacre was that the residents compost their plantings as a means of disposal. However, according to O'Such you cannot compost tomato plantings.
"You cannot compost tomato plants because you re-introduce any number of various diseases and you end up with a blighted garden," O'Such said. "And God forbid that Fair Haven residents should have a blighted garden."
O'Such suggested that the Borough should provide a scheduled pickup of plantings at least once per year in order to dispose of plantings.
Halfacre said that the Borough would take O'Such's comments and suggestions under advisement.
"The Borough has the same problem," Halfacre said. "If the residents can't compost their tomato plants, certainly the Borough can't compost every resident's tomato plants either. It's not just a matter of cost but how to dispose of it."
"Everything we do is a work in progress," Halfacre added. "We will take it under advisement."
A public hearing for the introduced ordinances is scheduled for March 23.
