Sparta Stops Brush Pickup For Now

The City of Sparta has announced that brush pickup services will no longer be provided, at least for the short-term.

Sparta Mayor Jerry Lowery said Waste Management has told the city that they can no longer take brush to the landfill. The two sides do not have an agreement at this point. Lowery said unfortunately not having access to the landfill has caused the stoppage of another service the city offers.

“Now we have nowhere to take it and there is no use of us picking it up with nowhere to take it,” Lowery said. “We are just sitting there with a truck full of brush. There is nowhere to dump it so it is better off letting the people keep it.”

Lowery said the stoppage is not permanent and the city has hopes to bring the service back. Lowery said if the city can make a deal with Waste Management the city would restore brush pickup services.

“It all stems back to this very thing of the negotiations to the landfill,” Lowery said. “Once we settle that issue a lot of these problems just kind of mesh together and then will be taken care of.”

Lowery said people can still burn brush on their property. Lowery said he is spreading the word that people should request burn permits.

“I’m probably going to make an announcement in the next couple of days or so to let people know to call the fire department and get a burn permit and you can burn your brush at your house right now,” Lowery said. “That’s not the best-case scenario.”

Lowery said the city is encouraging Sparta residents to not stack brush at the edge of the road to prevent a buildup. Lowery said the brush will be sitting there for some time and could potentially end up blocking a road. Lowery did say the city is still doing leaf pickup.