Residents can visit six locations across the city to pick them up. Officials warn that they’re not exactly the same as what you’d find in a store, but they’re free and there’s no per-person limit. “Storm-related tree chips will differ in size and quality from what is sold at a garden center,” public works general manager Alain Gonthier said in a memo to the city council. The chips are some of the finer materials from the wood and tree debris stored in city yards from the May 21 storm. The derecho downed an untold number of trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Ottawa customers, some for more than a week.
How to collect wood chips
There are six locations throughout the city where residents can pick up wood chips 24/7: City works yards:
4244 Rideau Valley Dr. 1655 Maple Grove Rd. 29 Hurdman Rd. 2145 Roger Stevens Dr.
Leisure facilities:
Navan Memorial Centre, 1295 Colonial Rd. Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Ave.
Residents must bring a shovel and their own containers to load the chips. They are encouraged to wear work gloves and appropriate footwear and to be aware of other vehicles.
Wood chips will be located in areas accessible to the public and signage will be posted. Sites will be monitored and timber stock replenished. Tokens will be available while supplies last. The city is also considering auctioning off logs from the storm.
The cleanup will continue until the fall
City crews are still working to remove damaged trees from city property, Gunthier said, adding that he expects removal operations to continue into the fall. Crews are also engaged in two types of stump removal on city properties. Stumps that are intact will be smoothed out next year. “It is standard practice when the tree removal is complete for the remaining stump to be dealt with the following year through the city’s stumpage program,” he said. However, uprooted logs should be removed and filled. “Because of the very large number of bottlenecks that need to be addressed, these will be long-term operations,” Gonthier said. This includes hiring contractors to carry out the work and is expected to extend until 2023. “Given the extended timelines, staff will be contacting residents who have uprooted logs on the edges of city streets adjacent to their properties about the time it may take to remove them.” The city is also working to replace significant tree loss. Residents who would like a city tree planted on their property right-of-way can apply online. The fall 2022 planting season is full, but new requests will be processed for spring 2023.
