An ongoing effort to clean up Des Moines’ neighborhoods from the Aug. 10 derecho that devastated trees throughout the metro is entering its home stretch, city officials announced. Over the next several weeks, tons of storm debris that were collected over a four-and-a-half-week period will be mulched by a “super-mulcher” provided by the state of Iowa. The state is footing the cost of the mulching operation and providing the contracted equipment to the city. “It costs several hundred thousand dollars to mulch this much debris,” said Jonathan Gano, Des Moines Public Works director. “The fact that the state of Iowa is doing that is a great service to the residents of Des Moines.” Now one week into the task, the mulching of the debris — more than 9,000 dump truck loads — is expected to take about two more weeks. If Des Moines residents still have storm debris to dispose of, one final free SCRUB (Spring Cleanup to Reduce Urban Blight) event is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. Yard waste should be delivered to the MWA Compost Center at 1601 Harriett St. For more information, visit DSM.city/SCRUB.