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I have a pile of planks sitting in my side yard that were yanked out when I restored my decks this summer. They're full of nails, so I'm wondering if I can take them to the Biomass One yards in White City? — Gerald K., Medford There is a laundry list of material that Biomass One prohibits, including metal. But nails and screws are permitted. So you're more than welcome to haul those boards to Biomass. Acoustical ceiling tiles, asphalt tiles, concrete shakes, treated wood, composition roofing, cardboard, materials containing plastic, grass clippings, loose leaves and needles, railroad ties, straw,  sheet rock and vinyl coating are all on the outs. Large stumps are discouraged, but smaller ones washed clean of soil are acceptable. The wood and fiber delivered to the BioMass yard off of Avenue G is chopped up and fed to wood fire boilers that producing electricity. The material ground up and filtered and ground up again if it's too big. An electromagnet draws out whatever metal remains before the wood is delivered to the boiler. The metal is then recycled. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected] . To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.