ATTN: The Placer County Chipper Program only serves addresses within the Placer Resource Conservation District service area. It cannot serve addresses within the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) jurisdiction. The TRPA jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, the communities east of Alpine Meadows like Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Dollar Point, Tahoe Pines, Homewood, and Meeks Bay. To schedule chipper service within TRPA jurisdiction, please visit the North Tahoe Fire Protection District.

Requesting Service

  • Complete your pile before you dial. Your piles must be complete and ready to chip (see prohibited items and requirements below) before requesting service.
  • If it’s not accessible, it’s not chippable. If the pile is not easily accessible to the crew for any reason, service will be declined and the request will be cancelled. This includes locked gates. See Placer RCD chipping requirements below for more information.
  • Appointments can’t be made no matter the day. The Placer County Chipper Program is a drive-by-service which means no appointments can be made. Chipping is completed on a rotational basis throughout the county to save on fuel costs.
  • Don’t request for someone else. The requester must be the possessor. In other words, the requester for service must be the landowner or controller of the parcel or property. Do not sign up on behalf of someone else.
  • For residential properties only. This is a residential program. Therefore, vacant lots, project lots, timber harvest projects, and commercial properties will not be serviced.
  • Items chipped must come from the same residence. Materials to be chipped must originate on the property where service is being requested.
  • Online Requests: Customers who signed up online will receive an invoice to their email inbox. After the service is completed, you can expect to receive an invoice via email within 24 to 72 hours. We kindly ask you to check your spam or junk folder if you don’t find it in your inbox. Please be aware that your statement will display a charge from Placer County Resource Conservation District or a similar description. 
  • Paper or Mail Requests: Customers who signed up by paper form will be left an invoice at their front door after chipping is completed.
  • Costs: The minimum invoice will be for one hour of service, at the cost-share rate of $80/hour. Minimum charge for service is $80.00.
  • Financial or Disability Fee Waiver. A financial or disability waiver may be obtained to reduce the cost. A financial or disability waiver request may be made when requesting service online or by paper request.

Invoicing

Online Requests: Customers who signed up online will receive an invoice to their email inbox. Please check your spam folder if no invoice has been received within 24 to 72 hours.

Paper or Mail Requests: Customers who signed up by paper form will be left an invoice at their front door after chipping is completed.

Costs: The minimum invoice will be for one hour of service, at the cost-share rate of $80/hour. Minimum charge for service is $80.00.

Financial or Disability Fee Waiver. A financial or disability waiver may be obtained to reduce the cost. Click here to learn more. A financial or disability waiver request may be made when requesting service online or by phone.

As long as program guidelines established below are met, there is no need for a resident to be home at the time of service.

Placer RCD reserves the right to deny service for any reason.

NOTE: SAFETY IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY. FAILING TO FOLLOW PROGRAM GUIDELINES OR INCLUDING PROHIBITED ITEMS IN YOUR PILES WILL RESULT IN DECLINED SERVICE.

Prohibited Items (Not Able to Chip List)

  • Placer RCD is not able to chip foreign materials, non-vegetative items or lumber of any kind.
  • Piles of leaves, pine needles, or yard clippings
  • Poison oak
  • Trunks or branches greater than 12” in diameter or less than 18” in length.
  • All varieties of broom (i.e. Scotch Broom, French broom)
  • Blackberries, vines, and anything with thorns.
  • Root balls, dirt clumps, stumps, and twigs.
  • Anything deemed to be a safety hazard by the crew lead.

Placer RCD Chipping Requirements

The following requirements must be met in order for us to chip at your location. We reserve the right to refuse chipping service if these requirements are not met:

  • Chipping piles need to be hand stacked (no piles that have been compressed with heavy equipment)
  • Piles must be placed within 10 feet of chipper access.
  • Piles must be accessible by the crew who use a truck and chipper pull-behind. If the pile is not easily accessible to the crew for any reason, service will be declined and the request will be cancelled. This includes locked gates.
  • Crews will not work over snow or in mud.
  • Piles must be placed on level ground or on the uphill side of the chipper access.
  • Piles must be stacked with the cut ends facing the same direction, pointing towards the access route to piles. Heaviest materials should be on the bottom with lightest material on the top.
  • Piles must not be higher than 6 feet.
  • Material can be up to 12” in diameter and needs to be longer than 18” in length.
  • All materials chipped will be blown back onto the property.
  • We can’t blow wood chips into your truck or trailer no matter how much you beg or holler: Accommodations can’t be made to blow chips into a truck or trailer.