With fall leaf collection about one month away, town officials last week approved the sale of about 2,000 cubic yards of leftover mulch to a New Canaan-based company.
The sale of the surplus mulch from last year’s leaf collection will net the town about $18,000 in revenue, at $9 per cubic yard, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. It also will save the town the estimated $400,000 to $500,000 cost of disposing of the excess material, he told members of the Board of Selectmen at their Sept. 22 meeting.
“We need to remove the material because we are going to be starting our leaf collection on Oct. 26, which will run through Thanksgiving,” Mann said at the meeting, held via videoconference. “So we need to vacate the area and this is a nice way to generate a little bit of revenue for us.”
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 to approve the sale.
The mulch being sold to Lanni Construction represents what’s left over after both the town and residents have at the mulch pile at the dump, officials said. New Canaan began selling off the excess mulch in about 2009, according to Mann, and has received about $146,000 in revenue for it. Lanni has paid the $9 rate for the past couple of years, he said.
Moynihan noted that the town of Darien asked if New Canaan was interested in taking its leaves, also.
“Tiger said that would not be smart for us,” Moynihan said.
Mann said, “We don’t have enough room. We just wouldn’t be able to take it, unfortunately.”