· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Junk Removal
Middle Tennessee storms leave a particular mess: tree limbs across the lawn, a section of privacy fence flat on the ground, shingles in the flower beds, a trampoline in the neighbor’s yard. The clean-up is the same set of decisions every time. What can go to the curb for Metro, what has to go to a convenience center or a hauler, what your insurance is paying for, and what needs a professional because it is too big or too dangerous to handle. Getting the sort right at the start saves a second round.
What goes to the curb
Metro Nashville collects brush and yard waste from residential addresses on a schedule, and after a large storm event it often sets up special collections. What it takes is limbs and brush, generally cut to a manageable length and stacked loose at the curb, not in bags and not mixed with anything else. What it does not take is construction material, fence panels, treated lumber, roofing, furniture, or anything a contractor cut down and left. Check Metro Public Works for the current rules and the schedule for your route before staging a pile.
A pile that mixes brush with the broken fence and the shingles gets skipped, and then it sits. Keep the brush separate, keep it clear of the street, mailboxes, storm drains and utility boxes, and keep it small enough for a truck with a claw to handle.
What does not, and where it goes instead
Fence panels, deck boards, pressure-treated wood, roofing, siding, gutters, sheds and their contents, and anything that was a structure are construction and demolition debris. Metro convenience centers accept limited amounts from residents with proof of address; check the current limits and what each site takes. Larger quantities, or anything you cannot lift and haul yourself, are a junk removal company’s job.
A junk hauler takes the mixed pile in one visit and sorts it at the transfer station, with the brush chipped or composted where possible and the treated lumber and roofing going to the landfill. Ask what they divert and what they charge by, which is usually the volume the load takes on the truck.
- Brush and limbs, loose and stacked: Metro yard waste collection
- Fence, deck, roofing, siding, shed parts: convenience center or hauler
- A whole tree down, or limbs on a roof or a line: a tree service first
- Anything touching a power line: NES, and stay away from it
When a tree service comes before a hauler
A large tree down across the yard is not a debris pile yet; it is a tree that has to be cut, and that is a tree service with a saw and the experience to cut wood under tension safely. A limb on the roof, a tree leaning on the house, or anything near a service drop is theirs as well. Most tree services haul what they cut, and their price includes it, so ask. What they leave behind, the smaller brush and the raked-up mess, is the yard waste and hauler question.
If the storm damage is an insurance claim, document the debris before it moves. Photograph the fallen tree on the fence, the shingles in the yard and the damaged structure before anything is cleared, because the adjuster will want to see what caused what. Many policies cover debris removal up to a limit when the debris came from a covered event; the tree service and hauler invoices are what that pays against.
Making the cleanup go quickly
Sort as you go, into the two piles. Cut brush to the length Metro asks for and stack it with the cut ends the same direction so the claw truck can grab it. Put the construction debris in one place the hauler’s truck can back up to, and keep the hazards out of it: no propane cylinders, no paint, no batteries, which go to the household hazardous waste site separately.
After a regional storm, everyone needs a hauler in the same week. Book early, ask for a window rather than a day, and get the price basis in writing. A company that shows up, loads the whole pile and leaves the yard raked is what you are paying for; the sorting at the other end is their problem.