Cape public works pleased with first day of new trash pickup operation

The first day of automated trash pickup for Cape Girardeau wasn't exactly automatic.

City solid waste supervisor Mike Tripp knew what problems he could expect. People using the wrong color bins, putting both bins out or just not using the new bins at all. But overall, Tripp said, the system seems like it will work well and ironing out the bugs will be fairly easy.

Most residents set the right bins at the curb, and Tripp said he is encouraged by an apparent immediate increase in recycling.

"Within a month, those issues will be down to a minimum," Tripp said after two hours observing how well the new system is working. "Within three months, I hope to have a perfectly functioning system."

Cape Girardeau converted to automated trash collection for approximately 11,000 residences at a cost of about $2.4 million. The city issued revenue bonds to be repaid from collection charges and did not increase the $16.75 per month fee. Savings from the new system include a reduced number of employees assigned to trash collection and an anticipated reduction in workers' compensation insurance costs because of fewer accidents and reclassifying sanitation workers because they no longer lift heavy trash cans.

Each home in the city received two new bins -- a 96-gallon green bin for recycling and a 65-gallon tan bin for garbage. Smaller bins are available for people who dispose of less-than-average amounts of trash.

In advance of the change, the city mailed brochures, conducted a publicity campaign and, when the bins were delivered, included detailed instructions on how they should be used.

But not everyone got the message. On Monday morning, trash truck drivers were regularly jumping from their cabs to adjust where trash bins were placed or tagging bins where residents made a mistake.

A recycling bin filled with trash is tagged. The tag tells the resident what mistake was made and, if they will move their garbage to the garbage bin, the city will come out and make another collection, Tripp said.

Kevin Crocker with Cape Girardeau Public Works gets out of the truck Monday to move a recycling bin to the curb so the automated arm could grab it. He also placed a tag on the can to notify the customer it was placed improperly. (Fred Lynch)

As he was filling out one of the tags, driver Jeff Garland said he's happy with the new system. "I like it a lot," he said. "It is slow going at first, but it is easier on our bodies and we'll last a lot longer out here.

"We are learning, along with everybody else."

On short dead-end streets, a conventional garbage truck equipped with a tipping lift collects from locations where it would be difficult to use the new trucks with the grappling arm.

Resident Carolyn LaFentres said she is "well satisfied" with the new system.

As for neighbors who didn't use the new bin, LaFentres said she had no trouble with the instructions. "They are just going to have to pay attention."

Each resident may place a full garbage bin at the curb once a week. The same is true for the recycling bins, which can be filled with almost all recyclable materials except glass.

Coupon discontinued

An old city program that allowed extra garbage to be placed at the curb with a $1 coupon attached has been discontinued. The city will still collect tagged trash until residents use their tags on hand, but anyone who regularly produces more than their bin will hold must order a second bin from the city and pay a second full monthly fee for it to be collected.

Tripp expects a significant increase in recycling. And on Cape Girardeau's south side, one of the areas that had the lowest participation in recycling, the signs are encouraging. Driver Kevin Crocker, who collects recycling on the south side on Mondays, checked each bin at houses that he hadn't collected recycling before. In most instances, he said, the bins were properly filled, and the number of recycling stops was about two or three times the previous level, he said.

Resident Johnny Brown, who was pulling his recycling bin after it was emptied, said he has been a regular recycler. The new system is pretty easy, Brown said. "It shouldn't be that hard to figure out," he said.

Tripp expected to start fielding calls by Monday afternoon from people who want to know why their trash was not collected. The only way to handle such calls, he said, is with diplomacy, even if the caller is angry.

"I will explain that we have rules and policies we have to follow," Tripp said. "Everyone follows rules and policies, like speed limits."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

2007 Southern Expressway, Cape Girardeau, MO