Compost Center's Success Could Mean Extended Hours

The Saucon Valley Compost Center has become so popular that there's now demand for it to be open on additional days, Lower Saucon Township Manager Jack Cahalan and Hellertown Borough Manager Cathy Kichline told members of the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce during a presentation Sept. 27.

The center, which is currently open Fridays and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm in season, is jointly operated by the borough and the township for the benefit of their residents.

Staffed by public works department employees from both municipalities, the center's success necessitated the use of ID cards beginning this year.

Cahalan said more than 6,000 visits to the Springtown Hill Road, Lower Saucon facility have been recorded so far this year.

And with the compost center's popularity increasing annually, he said expanding its hours is becoming a priority.

"People want to have this available," Kichline said, adding that the popularity of the compost center is "a good problem to have."

In order to extend the center's hours, additional volunteer help at the front gate will be needed, Cahalan said.

A few volunteers have already been recruited to help staff the entrance to the center--where IDs are checked--and they have been trained and given safety equipment.

Cahalan said longer hours are a possibility in 2013.

The center typically closes for the season in November and reopens in April, although Christmas tree drop-offs are accepted on select dates in January.

The yard waste brought to the compost center is ground up and turned into mulch, which is made available to local residents for use in their yards and gardens.