Woody Debris Collection & Disposal

The purpose of this project is to help county residents dispose of woody debris to reduce wildfire hazard. Curtain burning is an alternative to chipping, which is noisy, hazardous, time consuming, and requires a location to dispose of the chips.

The Process

Residents will simply haul their debris to the collection site on predetermined day.

The load is inspected by an employee or volunteer, details about the load is collected in a web form.

Information collected includes type and volume of debris and address the load came from.

The resident unloads onto the collection pile.

It is helpful to establish lanes to reduce congestion when several vehicles arrive at once.

It may also be useful to separate the debris by type(logs, branches, leaves) to make it easier for loading into the incinerator, though we have not yet found this to be necessary.

Once a sufficient amount of debris is collected the Air Curtain Incinerator(curtain burner) will dispose of the debris.

One operator with a small excavator is all that is needed to operate the curtain burner.

The contractor must also have suppression capabilities on site. This includes a pickup with a water tank and pump.

A small, portable machine can burn 2 to 4 tons per hour.

95% - 98% of the biomass is reduced to a Biochar which can be used as a soil enhancement.

Compared to traditional outdoor burning of wood waste, air curtain incinerators emit lower levels of air pollutants, including PM2.5 and nitrogen oxide. They burn more efficiently and produce significantly less smoke than traditional outdoor burning.

The Site

A large space is not necessary for the curtain burner to operate. The burn trailer is smaller than a pickup truck. Traffic flow is the biggest consideration and there should be sufficient space for vehicles to turn around.

Per DEQ regulations, commercial curtain burners must be at least 300 feet from a residential structure or business.

It is also a good idea to have the ability to close access to the site to prevent after hours dumping. We have not had any issues with the but it should be considered.

What is Accepted

We typically only accept woody debris smaller than firewood size. Though the curtain burner will incinerate leaves, forbs, needles and cones, they tend to choke air flow and slow down the process so we do not accept them at our collection events.

Below is a list of a materials that Oregon DEQ authorizes for disposal by a curtain burner.