Customers can haul green waste — tree branches, leaves, shrubs and flower trimmings and lawn clippings — to the Herlong Transfer Station from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Agate attendant will be checking incoming loads to ensure they only contain the permitted materials. Lumber, plywood, stumps, any painted wood, furniture, cardboard, paper or any other solid waste are prohibited.

Green waste will be collected at theWestwood Landfill only when it is open on the first Tuesday of every month from April through October.

Tom Valentino, Lassen Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (LRSWMA) manager, explainedgreen waste disposal in Westwood is only accepted during that time because there has been a problem in the past with people sneaking their trash in and dumping it in the pile.

He said staff is asking customers at all of the facilities to keep the green waste loads clean so the program can continue to be offered.

The authority had suspended green waste collection in Herlong, Westwood and Spalding because people were throwing other garbage into their green waste loads hauled to thefacilities.

According to Valentino the Herlong stockpile had become so badly contaminated it had to be hauled to the Bass Hill Landfill to be disposed of, which cost the authority a lot of money.

However, in recent meetings of the LRSWMA board of directors, questions arose from directors Bob Pyle and Jack Hanson about starting green waste collection services in Westwood, Spalding and Herlong again.

Although not included yet, the authority is working on resuming green waste disposal in Spalding and the United States Forest Service will be included in all aspects, according to Valentino.

The Lassen County Air Pollution Control District issued a burn permit so staff can burn the green waste pile at Herlong. And Calfire will issue a burn permit one to two weeks prior to the authority’s intent to burn.

According to Valentino, burning will occurwhen there is no more than 1,000 cubic yards of collected green wastes and only on permissible burn days with light winds, low temperatures and declining barometric pressure.

Burning will not be allowed if the wind will shift smoke toward West Patton Village or the Sierra Army Depot. The entire stockpile will not be burned at one time, but only small amounts will be transferred to a new stockpile for burning.