CITY BEGINS ANNUAL SPRING CLEANUP

Discarded televisions, broken-down couches and refrigerators, and the assorted debris of cardboard boxes, lumber and yard waste cling to Cape Girardeau's curbs.

They are everywhere this week, these mini-mountains of junk.

Cape Girardeau residents have hauled their trash to the streets for the city's annual spring cleanup.

At 6 a.m. Monday, the Public Works Department began picking up the extra trash, tons of it.

"Last year, we collected a total of 630 tons of trash," Solid Waste Coordinator Steve Willis said.

That included about 120 tons of regular trash, as well as 510 tons of worn out furniture, appliances and other items the city normally doesn't pick up.

City officials predict this year's cleanup will net a similar haul.

The cleanup effort isn't cheap. Last year, the city spent more than $52,000 to haul off all the debris.

This year's five-day cleanup involves 52 Public Works employees, and more than 20 trucks, backhoes and other equipment.

Willis said city crews work 10- to 12-hour days during the week to pick up all the trash. The cleanup begins at 6 each morning.

The city tries to pick up everything, but there are some restrictions.

The cleanup is limited to Cape's residential customers. The city won't collect tires, batteries, motor oil, paint, pesticides or other hazardous waste. Such items can't be dumped in a landfill.

Residents are asked to remove the doors from discarded appliances as a child-safety precaution.

Abandoned appliances are taken to the city's transfer station where the motors, compressors and freon must be removed before they can be disposed of.

Yard waste is hauled to the city's compost area.

The city's Steve Cook said crews will collect a reasonable amount of refuse, typically what it would take two men up to 10 minutes to load. Cook is the city's environmental services coordinator.

"We have got anywhere from one article sitting at the curb to as much as two or three pickup loads," he said.

"We have got people working overtime to take care of it. There are definite costs there, but we think it is worth it."