Trash, recycling

Cape Girardeau residents and city sanitation workers are adjusting to the new trash and recycling system that started Monday. New trucks and new trash containers were put to the test, as were residents who were learning how close to the curb to put their containers, which container to put out and why trash in old containers wasn't picked up.

All of this is to be expected during the shakedown. Cape Girardeau has purchased new trucks with robotic arms that do the heavy lifting. Containers that encourage residents to separate garbage from recyclable materials have been provided for every household.

In general, city officials expect to see a huge increase in recycling. The new system, called single-stream recycling, allows any recyclable item to be placed in the recycling container, except for glass. No longer are residents expected to separate recycling items. As a result, many residents who did not participate in recycling are now doing so.

Some of the problems encountered during the first days of the new system have included containers placed too far from the curb to be reached by the robotic arms and the wrong containers put out for emptying.

These issues will be resolved as everyone gets accustomed to the new system.