A number of folks have approached me about the upcoming trash contract renewal with Veolia. Seniors are telling me that they don’t want to pay extra for a 96 gallon trash can they’re not going to fill. Environmentally conscious folks are telling me that we don’t need to be encouraged to produce more trash.
When I first heard the proposal in a city council study session last month, I was a little leery about doing away with the stickers. Now, after listening to your concerns, I agree that the contract as presented is a step backward. One person who spoke to me made a good point: we have trash limits for a reason. Buying a $1 sticker for each bag over the limit may be inconvenient, but it encourages more recycling and less trash per household. Recycling is free and unlimited, as it should be.
I understand that Veolia would like to convert their trucks for automated trash pickup – saving the backs of their workers – by standardizing the trash bins. However, I think it’s reasonable to ask for a smaller standard size. And we should keep the sticker system as-is.
I also agree with Greg Orear’s comments in the Daily Express that one large item a week is probably overkill. One or two a month should be sufficient for everybody and keep our yards from looking like dumps.
Kirksville is a progressive city. Let’s continue to be good stewards of the environment with a responsible trash contract.
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As a college student, I really like the spring clean-up. It’s the time of year when many graduating students are getting rid of furniture they don’t want to move, so myself and others get to do some “shopping” for free used furniture, and other items. This way, many items which would be thrown into the landfill are instead given a new life with new owners.
Hi Pamela,
As a former college student myself, I do understand. And college students aren’t the only ones who like to shop around at that time – it’s a terrific way to recycle things.
Because the city currently does the spring cleanup “in house,” it takes up almost two months of the very same employees and equipment that fix the roads. If we farm it out, we can get to the road repairs at a time of year when it is ideal to do so.
I wonder if you wouldn’t have an even better opportunity to get rid of furniture and do your “shopping” if it were year-round – say, twice a month – instead of just once a year. What do you think?
Your argument is convincing. Having an official cleanup week once a month would serve the same purpose. I think twice a month is a bit overkill. And road repairs this time of year are always an issue.
Additionally, I would like to agree with the senior citizens and environmentally conscious folks who think 96 gallon trash bins are just too much. I see nothing wrong with the current sticker policy.
I’m offering the following in response to this article and the former one titled “Waste management and other dirty business”.
I’ve learned more from your two articles than from the newspapers and other offerings regarding the proposed changes to trash removal. Lack of information, definitive information, always causes me to view the proposal with great suspicion. So I ask the following:
1. Currently the limit is one trashcan (30 or 33 Gal?) and/or 40 pounds each week free. A 96 gallon container is the equivalent of about three trashcans. Would we be allowed 120 pounds per week? More? Less? How much will the 96 gal container hold and the automated dump system handle?
2. The trash company told me by phone that currently their employees are not allowed to pick up the trashcans (news to me). Therefore all trash has to be bagged. Will we still be required to bag trash and therefore continue to put unwanted plastic trash bags into the landfill (reference the bagging of leaves issue)?
3. What if a senior cannot physically move a 96 gal container to the front lawn/driveway? The trash company told me via phone that a senior can have their trash removed from nearer their home, i.e. outside the garage door or ? How does the proposed automated pickup affect this service?
4. Does the automated pickup system require that the container be placed a certain direction relative to and distance from the street? What about snow/ice conditions (snowplows leave windrows that block driveways)? Unless the 96 gal containers are considerably heavier, wind will still pose problems after they have been dumped. Some/most seniors may have difficulty with these issues.
5. The 96 gal container will likely have to be placed upon a hard surface such as a driveway. How will this work for residents without a driveway? How will this affect the movement of residents in and out of their drives?
6. What constitutes a “large Item”? I doubt that the trash company will be willing to haul off items as large as can be put out for spring cleanup regardless of frequency. Therefore I believe some real facts are needed before signing off on the large item removal.
Sadly there seems to be very little real thought put into the revised trash removal proposal except for the improvements for the employees.
Hey Todd,
In this day and age when no one holds uo their end of the bargain, don’t you think the city should make Veolia live up to it’s word? The current contract is still in effect for another two years I believe. Should all parties live by the current contract, otherwise why have them. Also, I believe this is a contract that would need to go out for bids again.
Hi Mike & Tom,
I don’t believe the council has discussed the trash contract proposal since the initial study session when it was presented. Those are good questions, and they deserve to be addressed.