Trash or Garbage?

By JOHN RECH

news@theeveningtimes.com

While the city fielded a number of complaints about sanitation services during the June public works meeting, city council members expressed desires for city garbage and trash customers to know and understand the difference between the two kinds of rubbish. Garbage is collected one way and trash is currently picked up on another day using a different vehicle. Both garbage and trash were not to be put out until the evening before the scheduled service.

Garbage comes out of the house, especially the kitchen. Garbage is defined by the city as food, food containers, organic waste and clothing. The city planned to roll out its garbage 90 gallon garbage cans to residents beginning in mid-July. Sanitation customers have been paying an up charge for the new city provided bins for a year. The charge will sunset when the cans are paid for in full. The city still needs funding for 700 more residential customer cans. The city invested in the bins to help reduce litter and improve the appearance of the city.

Trash items have been picked up with a claw truck including items like outdoor debris, yard waste, twigs, weeds, grass clippings and small pruned or wind fallen branches less than six feet long. The trash truck has a grab strength limit, for this reason large branches, tree trunks are not collected and have been excluded from the residential trash pick-up.

City customers should make arrangements for your contractor to haul away debris or hire a private roll off dumpster for bigger tree work, discarded shingles, demolition or remodeling material, masonry or concrete. and

See TRASH, page A3 TRASH

From page A1

tires Tires should be carried to the county shop, on Highway 64 across from the cemeteries, for recycling or fee paid to the tire dealer for disposal. Whole house clean out of old furniture should also be handled privately.

The city continued to offer recycling at a central location, in the city hall parking lot. Last quarter citizens dropped off 78,660 pounds of recyclables and _lled three trailers with electronic waste.

Residents may bring aluminum cans, metal food cans and beverage cans, aluminum foil and trays, cereal and food boxes, milk and juice cartons, mixed paper, newspaper, of_ce paper and junk mail, magazines, old phone books and catalogs, books, plastic bottles and jugs including caps, wide mouth plastic containers, rigid plastic, cardboard and pizza boxes old batteries, televisions, computers, cell phones are taken in the separate electronic waste trailer.

Just like garbage and trash collection recyclables have limits. No wood, food waste, no PET type plastic strapping, liquid waste, no bio-hazards, no scrap metal, no aerosol cans, no wax products like candles and crayons, nor tires and rubber are accepted at the recycling trailer. Elected of_cials urged city sanitation customers to contact the public works department at (870) 732-7580 or (870) 732-7671.