Cape Girardeau City Council approves $2.36 million for automated trash collection

Automated trash collection is on the way, the Cape Girardeau City Council decided Monday night.

The council approved spending $2.36 million from the sale of bonds to purchase six new garbage trucks, 22,000 new trash and recycling bins and a public education campaign to promote the switch. Public works director Tim Gramling said he expects the service switch to be made sometime in the spring, perhaps as early as the first weeks of May.

Since July, the city has been looking at automating the collection of trash as a way to save money on employee costs, equipment maintenance and workers' compensation insurance. Gramling at first wanted to have the switch completed by Jan. 1, but council reluctance to make the change led to a public awareness campaign that included a city-produced video and demonstrations at the SEMO District Fair and the Cape Girardeau Senior Center.

The spending requires a final vote. Once that takes place at the council's Nov. 16 meeting, Gramling said he will place an order for the trucks. Under the terms of a $150,000 grant supporting the purchase, the trucks must be delivered to the city by April 30.

The intervening time will be spent training sanitation workers to use the trucks so that the service change can be made as quickly as possible, Gramling said.

"I would like to make it sooner than May if I can," Gramling said.

Under the program, each home would receive two trash bins -- a 64-gallon container for regular garbage and a 96-gallon container for all recyclable materials except glass. The containers would be picked up by a truck with an automated arm, eliminating one job from every trash truck. The new program would replace the current system in which each home has two containers of up to 35 gallons each purchased by the resident, along with the recycling system that requires recyclable materials to be separated for collection.

The council moved despite some concerns about whether the bins are too large for some people, especially the frail or elderly, to move about easily and concern over jobs. Councilman Charlie Herbst said he was glad the job cuts will result in the reassignment of employees but no layoffs.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said he realizes some citizens are still reluctant to accept the change. "Change sometimes comes with a price, and it may be uncomfortable for a period of time, but we hope not."

In other action, the council also approved hiring Alberici Constructors Inc. of St. Louis as construction manager for several park and storm-water projects currently underway. Alberici will monitor change orders and engineering compliance, city manager Scott Meyer said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO