The city will collect large brush in our area during the week of Oct. 7. Set brush out by 6:30 a.m. Monday, and observe the following guidelines:

• Stack unbound brush along the curb in one row no more than 4 feet high or 15 feet long.
• Place the cut ends toward the curb.
• If trunks are 3 to 8 inches in diameter, cut to lengths no longer than 6 feet. If trunks are more than 8 inches in diameter, cut to lengths of 3 feet or less.
• Keep brush at least 5 feet away from your garbage cart or other obstacles, and do not place under low-hanging branches or wires.
• Do not let brush extend into the street, block your mailbox or water meter, or lean against a fence or telephone connection box.
• Crews will not pick up loose bamboo, vines or thorny brush. Cut into small pieces and set out in a plastic bin or Kraft-paper yard waste bag on your regular trash collection day.

When you set out yard trimmings, brush and Christmas trees, you’re helping to create compost that returns organic matter to the soil in landscapes around Central Texas. Your brush gets recycled at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant, where it is composted with sewage sludge to create the soil conditioner Dillo Dirt. The process keeps thousands of tons of yard waste out of landfills.

Learn more about Hornsby Bend’s Center for Environmental Research, which offers lunchtime lectures, a bird observatory, walking trails along the Colorado River and more. The center is 7 miles east of Burleson Heights on FM 973.

See more brush collection guidelines from the Austin Resource Recovery Department (formerly Solid Waste Services).