|
|
Clears Nearly Two-Thirds
|
| Of Citrus Grove For New |
| Housing Development |
| In Temecula |
By Tammy Boone
Photos By Terica Messmer |
| |
(Caption) Laan's Recycling Resources and their Volvo EC 210B Crawler Excavator picking up trees to be placed into the grinder.
|
|
| |
...........John Laan has been in the tree trimming, removal, and stump ......grinding service for 30 years, 22 of which have been on his own ...as Laan's Tree Service. More recently he added Laan's Recycling Resources, which specializes in mobile clearing, grinding, recycling and/or removal of green waste for commercial and residential land development and improvement.
“I always have liked the idea of being able to recycle green waste,” John says. “In the tree business, we create a large percentage of the green waste out there and now the trend is to recycle it instead of taking it to the landfill. Recycled green waste is seen everywhere, mostly as mulch and erosion control on slopes.”
Eventually John hopes to get into the actual composting and mulching end of green waste recycling.
He started in the tree trimming and removal field while he was still in high school. He says he wasn't much of a student and loved being outdoors, so when he learned he could get his General Educational Development (GED) certificate instead of finishing high school,
he jumped at the chance. “I don't regret it one bit,” he says. |
|
|
| |
| |
..................In order to start Laan's Recycling Resources, John had to purchase new pieces of ............equipment. He chose a Volvo L70E Wheel Loader and a Volvo EC210B Crawler Excavator, ........both purchased from Mathews Machinery.
John says that Mathews Machinery is doing a good job for him. Despite the fact that John's company is not the size as some, he says the people at Mathews know him and treat him well.
John recently took his equipment to a job in Temecula, working for Blackmore Contracting, a grading contractor headquartered in Temecula. The project is for custom homes that will each have
2 1/2 acre lots. There is an 80-acre citrus grove on the land currently, and John, his operator and groundsman will be removing about 50 acres of the citrus grove, leaving the other 30 acres in tact in sections and blocks. The home sites will be built among the remaining citrus groves. The two-month project is challenging because of having to work around the remaining sections of the grove. It is also located on a hillside. It overlooks the Penchanga Resort & Casino.
The process involves pulling out each tree, including the roots and then grinding them into wood chips. Wood chips are either left on site per owner, or converted into landscape mulch. John says it's important for the groundsman to physically clean as much of the organic matter as possible off the site so that Blackmore Contracting can get good soil compaction when preparing the pads for the homes. These 50 acres are
among the larger projects completed by Laan's Recycling Resources, according to John. |
|
| |
(Right) Volvo EC 210B Crawler E
xcavator placing tree into Vermeer H
G 6
000
H
orizontal Grinder.
|
|
| |
|
(Below)
Volvo L70 Wheel Loader
bringing material to staging area.
|
|
|
|
| |
(Above Right) Owner of Laan's Recycling Resources, John Laan.
(Below) Volvo L70 Wheel Loader returning to retrieve more material.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
..................He has seven people working for him, but John is a hands-on kind of guy. His goal is to .........find good, quality people and keep them working steadily. Laan's Recycling Resources mainly ....contracts with developers in Riverside County, and also works with other contractors who actually compost the green waste. In addition to the Volvo equipment, he has a Vermeer HG Horizontal Grinder. He says he will travel anywhere with his equipment, providing the job is big enough. When he does go out of town, he hauls his fifth wheel camper along and sleeps on the jobsite.
Being an owner/operator has its advantages and its challenges, John believes. The challenges come into play when two jobs come up at the same time and he has to choose which one he's going to take. Another drawback is the fact that when you're the owner/operator you're, “married to the company and can't take a vacation even when you've promised yourself one,” he says.
The economy also makes the life of a tree and recycling service more difficult. As the economy affects the housing industry, there is less development going on, and thus less land clearing needed, as well as scaling back on actual tree trimming maintenance. “It's a trickle down effect,” John explains.
For more information look online at www.laansrecyclingresources.com or call (951) 926-6059. Cc
|
|
|
|
|
|
