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Over the last several months, the City Commission and City staff have been reviewing sanitation and bulk trash policies. One of the biggest issues we had to tackle was the bulk trash pickup program. While the program has been a great success in helping to remove the trash in the community, the program is also very expensive and is having a crippling effect on the Sanitation Fund and other city programs. In this article we will briefly describe some of the problems with the program and then will briefly describe some changes that have been recommended and some other changes which we are going ahead and putting in place right away.
The bulk trash program has been very successful in its goal of cleaning up Parsons. We provided a program that has seemed to reduce illegal dumping of waste and has also given the City a tool in helping citizens clean up properties with a no-cost alternative to landfill charges or illegal dumping.
However, there have been some problems. We know that some trash is being hauled in from outside of the city and left here for free pickup. Also, people have set out trash, do not call in for a pickup, and that rules are often misunderstood or not followed. The program also doesn't begin to pay for itself. Since the program has been in place, the 50-cent fee that was added does not cover even half of the landfill charges that the program generates. Finally, the program relies on using other city crews to assist. On average we use over 400 hours each month from street or parks staff to assist the program. This results in other projects being delayed or remaining incomplete. Because of this arrangement, there are times when city staff cannot get to the piles or trash in a timely fashion, because of crews being tied up on a major project.
In light of these issues, the City staff has proposed some changes to the bulk trash policy. A complete copy of these proposed changes can be found on the City website. However, for this article, we wanted to highlight the major changes
The first major change that we are making right away is to encourage all bagged yard waste (leaves and grass clippings) to be included with your normal pickup on your regular trash day. If you have generated a lot of yard waste over the weekend, say more than 10 bags, and would like it picked up on Monday, we will be glad to pick it up if you call it in for a bulk pickup. However, to make a special extra trip for three or four bags of grass clippings is not cost effective and in this day of high gas prices, it becomes a very costly trip.
The other major issue the City wants to highlight is that we will provide residents with a 2-yard metal dumpster for their weekend home remodeling or spring cleaning. The reasoning behind this is that loose remodeling materials, such as plaster or sheetrock, or toys, books, games, and clothing are often just tossed in a loose pile on the curb. It takes our city crews a lot of time to pick these items up by hand and we would like to make it more efficient and cleaner by having these items in a container, especially one we can back up to with a large trash truck. Right now, we are proposing a change in sanitation and bulk regulations to make it mandatory that all loose items are placed in some kind of container or trash can. Items like carpet, large furniture, appliances, and mattresses could be placed out without being contained. However, until these changes are adopted, we are asking for your help with this issue to by beginning to help us with our efficiency.
The following are reminders of our current bulk pickup policy:
Some of the other major proposed changes are included below:
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Any items placed at the curb for more than one week, without notification to the City, are subject to a nuisance citation.
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Appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, water heaters, air conditioners and heating units will be accepted, but doors must be removed for child safety.
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Tree limbs and brush must be less than 10 ft. long and in a separate pile. The city will not pick up trees cut down by commercial tree services.
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Any demolition materials from owner-performed small remodeling jobs, that can fit in a container, must be placed in one. When filled each container should weigh no more than 50 lbs. Otherwise, these materials should be placed in a 2-yard dumpster provided by the City.
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Construction debris that require more than one pickup in a week or in consecutive weeks will be subject to the special pick-up fees.
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No contractor-created construction debris. Contractors are responsible for hauling their own construction debris.
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No commercial waste.
We hope this information makes you more aware of the proposed changes to bulk pickup and the challenges we face in keeping this program. It is our hope that by making some changes to better represent the intent of the program that we can keep weekly pickup as a part of our overall sanitation services.
Also, the City Commission will be examining this policy and reviewing the current sanitation program, rates and proposed policy changes at upcoming City Commission meetings. If you are interested in these proposed changes or would like more information on the current status of the program, we encourage you to attend.
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