WIUM Local
(2009-03-31)
Macomb Public Works Director Walter Burnett
Aldermen are reviewing whether the city should buy an air curtain. The device would allow yard waste to be burned more efficiently. The city started burning yard waste at a site on the city's north side to deal with the large amount of damaged limbs from the December ice storm.
The city rented an air curtain to help with the process. Public Works Director Walter Burnett has suggested the city buy the device. He says it would be cheaper than grinding, plus much of the money spent renting it can be applied toward the purchase.
Burnett says the air curtain can be purchased for $14,770. That includes rental credits. He says a used tub grinder would cost $69,000 plus shipping. A new machine of the same model would cost $114,900.
But the idea of buying the air curtain - and thus doing more burning for years to come - is generating some heat. Macomb resident Gordon Rands told aldermen the city should instead make the wood from the yard waste site available for lumber and fireplaces. He also said some of it should be grinded into mulch. He called those ideas "added value."
The city says it already grinds some wood into mulch that's offered free to Macomb residents, but few people take advantage of it.
There are also environmental concerns about burning. Sometimes the smoke lingers in the air for hours after burning is completed for the day. On some days people in the downtown area can smell the smoke.
But Burnett has said the carbon footprint from burning is about the same as grinding wood. Fifth Ward Alderman Dave Dorsett says that "defies logic."
But Tom Green says it's perfectly logical. Green teaches urban forest management at Western Illinois University and is a former city forester for Burlington.
Green pointed out grinders run on fossil fuels and end up causing air pollution. "That's why I'm a proponent of burning using the air curtain. It's more efficient and there's less particulate matter."
Nonetheless, Dorsett used this week's Committee of the Whole meeting to urge fellow aldermen to deny the purchase of the air curtain. The city council is expected to vote on the matter during its April 6 meeting.
You can listen to the entire discussion from the Committee of the Whole meeting by clicking on the audio button. © Copyright 2012, wium
