Norris residents must begin using new trash containers
One of the new 96-gallon Norris trash bins, right, sits next to an older bin in front of the Norris Public Safety Building on Tuesday, July 29, both full of trash awaiting pickup. Beginning this week, residents are allowed to use only the new containerss. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
The new 96-gallon wheeled plastic containers are designed to be picked up by a mechanical arm on the trash truck as it moves through the city, and only the provided cans are allowed from now on, City Manager Adam Ledford said.
Waste should no longer be put out to the curb in the old containers people had been using, and everything being discarded must fit inside the new cans – with the lid closed.
“If you wish to have Waste Connections pick up your old containers, please place them next to your new container on Aug. 19,” the city said in an announcement on its website.
No recycling pickups are offered, so those bins should not be put out anymore, Ledford said.
Under a new contract with Waste Connections that began July 1, Tuesday remains the trash-service day for the entire city, but recycling pickups have been eliminated permanently.
With the new containers in place, Waste Connections will have only a driver on board the truck, using the automated pickup arm, so there will be no one walking along with the truck to put trash into the back of it.
Additionally, the back-door pickup of trash is no longer be offered except to a few residents who qualify as disabled.
With the elimination of recycling service, residents saw their monthly trash-collection bills drop to $15 from the previous $16.
The change to the automated pickup means that residents must place their garbage containers within five feet of the curb for pickup no later than 7 a.m. on Tuesdays, according to Ledford.
“If necessary, placing your cart out the night before is permitted, so long as you assure the cart is secure and will not tip over,” Ledford said in an announcement posted on the city’s website. “Placement should allow five feet of clearance (away from cars, power poles, structures and other garbage carts) on all sides of the cart for efficient service.”
As for back-door trash pickup, “In certain circumstances, individuals with mobility issues that prevent them from bringing their solid waste container to the curb may receive a waiver from the curbside requirement,” Ledford said.
“To be approved, individuals must complete a form (available on the city’s website) and meet the following criteria: 1) there is no person in the household who is physically capable of transporting the container to the curb; 2) there is no neighbor or relative NOT living in the household who is able or willing to assist the resident in transporting the container to the curb; and 3) a certification is provided by the resident’s physician which certifies that the resident has a mobility impairment [that] prevents the transportation of a container to the curb.”
Residents who currently possess a Waste Connections-branded recycling tub are free to repurpose it for other uses, or [they may] leave it by [their] trash [bins] for disposal, Ledford said.
If the city had chosen to retain recycling pickups in the new contract, the service would have been reduced to every other week, and the monthly pickup bill for each resident would have been $24, he said.
