While Island County is currently under burn-ban restrictions, there is an effective alternative to burning brush and trees, said Bruce Bell, owner of Bruce Bell Tractor Landscaping.

The Freeland business uses a state-of-the-art ASV mulching machine to shred dense overgrowth, shrubs, bushes and small trees, while composting the ground-up vegetation into the soil. It can also mulch existing debris piles containing tree trunks up to 8 inches in diameter.

“This innovative technique is a highly cost-effective means of environmental maintenance that profoundly decreases man hours on clearing projects and eliminates the need for burn piles and hauling of debris,” Bell said. “Environmentally, mulching, as opposed to burning, promotes re-fertilization of the soil, controls weed and brush growth, improves insect control and eliminates the negative effect of smoke on our air quality,” he said.

For more information, call Bell at 331-6254.