First deadline near in Cape trash overhaul

In a little more than three months, Cape Girardeau's change to an automated trash and recycling collection service will begin.

But before that happens the first week of May, residents must prepare for the change, and the first deadline on the horizon is Friday, when people who want smaller trash and recycling carts must place their orders.

A city brochure on the change, sent out to nearly 11,000 residential trash customers, highlights the option and the deadline just below the fold with the customer's address.

The city will deliver a new tan trash and a new dark green recycling bin to each customer. The standard sizes will be 64 gallons for garbage and 96 gallons for recycling. Residents can, if they choose, ask for a 48-gallon to replace either or both of the larger bins if their household doesn't produce large amounts of trash or recycling.

"They just need to let us know if that is what they want," said Tim Gramling, director of the city Public Works Department. "It doesn't mean they can't get one later, but it will mean they might have to wait."

The city has ordered 10,000 sets of the 64- and 96- gallon bins, Gramling said. So far, the city has received 420 requests for smaller bins, which he said is on track to meet his estimate of about 500 residents choosing smaller sizes.

The switch to automated collection will replace a fleet of two-employee trucks, collecting trash by manually tipping trash cans, with one-person trucks with a large grappling arm to hoist the bins over the truck for dumping. The city currently collects two trash cans of up to 35 gallons each once a week. An additional trash bag may be placed at the curb for collection using stickers that cost $1 each.

After the new system starts, the stickers will no longer be in use. Customers can request and use a second trash bin, but it will cost an extra $16.75 per month -- doubling the basic rate.

The new recycling system will resemble trash collection, with bins being lifted by the grappling arm. All recyclables except glass may be mingled in the recycling bin, instead of the current program where items are separated by type and collected by hand from the curb.

No other aspects of trash collection will change -- the city will continue to collect leaves in the fall and make one free special-order pickup of large quantities of trash per year at each residence, Gramling said.

Another decision residents with mobility difficulties should make is whether to ask the city to have sanitation workers move their bins to the curb for them. The larger bins are designed to tilt, swivel and move easily, but some reservations have been expressed at demonstrations at places like the Cape Girardeau Senior Center.

Since the change was announced, the city has received calls about the service, Gramling said. "It is something I imagine may trickle in over time. It is something we have always done anyway."

New trash bins will begin arriving at residents' homes beginning the week of March 29, Gramling said, with deliveries continuing over the next few weeks. That will allow enough time to reach every home with time to spare before the service change, he said.

The last decision to make will be what to do with old trash cans. They can no longer be used, and the city will take them with the last manual collection in April if residents write "TAKE CAN" on the container. The brochure also suggests using the old trash container to hold yard tools, rainwater or compost or donate it to a school or not-for-profit without automated service.

The brochure includes details about allowed recyclables, items that cannot be included with trash and a question-and-answer area.

"It was a challenge, getting that much information into it and still making it readable," Gramling said. "We have been pretty pleased with the response and got quite a few calls the first couple of days."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO

Finding Help

General information online: www.cityofcapegirardeau.org

Smaller trash bins: Call 339-6351 or e-mail to capepublicworks@cityofcapegirardeau.org or go online at the city website.

Help moving bins: Call Customer Service at 339-6322. A form detailing the need must be filled out by a physician and returned to the city.