Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Burn ban starts May 1 By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com The area's annual summer outdoor burning ban begins Thursday in an effort to prevent more smog particles from polluting metro Atlanta's air. The ban will continue through Sept. 30, putting the locks on all outdoor burning, including leaves, tree limbs and other yard wastes. Instead, residents are asked to use yard trimmings in composting, mulching and chipping. The Fayette County Landfill will accept all yard debris including grass clippings, tree branches and tree stumps. The landfill's transfer station is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has said open burning is a significant contributor of the pollutants that form ozone. The ban covers all 13 counties in metro Atlanta which are in the designated "ozone non-attainment area" and 32 additional surrounding counties. For more information on the burning ban, contact the EPD's air protection branch at 404-363-7000 or the northwest regional office at 404-362-2671. Additional information is available from the Georgia Forestry Commission office at 770-227-5522 or 770-358-1459. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page