BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Village residents are beginning to tidy up their yards following a mild winter that has segued into a relatively wet spring but that isn't stopping them from bagging up grass clippings and leaves.

One major change is now in effect however, as residents are required to use paper bags if they want Department of Public Works crews to take away their clippings.

Trustee Ken McGowan said he has seen quite a few out on the curb, a sign that residents have begun to embrace the change.

When asked how his crews were handling the change, DPW Superintendent Marty Miller said his crews were doing well.

“It seems like it’s moving in the right direction. It seems like they’re kind of keeping up on it,” he said.

Miller said that while many residents have switched to paper bags, his crews have encountered a few who are still using plastic bags.

Under new code regulations, residents are only allowed to use paper bags for DPW pickups, however they can still use plastic bags if they want to dispose of their yard waste on their own.

Miller first lobbied the board last spring, saying the switch would save the village time and money with crews able to work faster to pick up the bags.

Though concerns were voiced about the bags being left out too long and rain storms leading to a bigger mess to clean up when bags became saturated, trustees formally approved the code change last July.

Miller and trustees then agreed a phase in period would be needed so residents could be notified about the change and so local stores could stock the bags.

Miller and Village Administrator Monique Chatland both raised the subject of a lack of availability, with both saying the village or DPW may be able to buy the bags in bulk to then sell to residents at cost as a way to ensure a steady supply and lower prices.

Mayor Greg Paquin also touched on the subject last summer, saying that DPW crews being able to throw the bags right onto trucks for disposal, as opposed to ripping open plastic bags to dump the contents, would save crews time and the village money.

"This way, crews will be able to get done fast and get back to doing other things they normally do in the summer, like road repair, culvert replacements and those kinds of season specific tasks," he previously said.

Miller previously said that in the event of storms that may cause significant damage to trees, DPW crews would be able to do additional pickups of brush and limbs outside of the regularly scheduled pickups.

"We can decide those things on the fly, so in the worst case scenario, we can send out crews for pickups if a number of properties are affected," Miller said last July.