1 week Ago
Bismarck residents will soon see changes to how the city collects extra garbage items, as city officials move forward with updating the garbage truck fleet. The City Commission on Tuesday narrowly approved changes to residential garbage collection, voting to nix the collection of extra garbage items and instead implement a system where residents can purchase a second 96-gallon can. Mayor Mike Schmitz and Commissioners Anne Cleary and John Risch supported the changes while Commissioners Michael Connelly and Greg Zenker dissented.
Other changes approved also include the implementation of a special pickup service for bulky household items at a $20 fee, and the conversation of all alleyway trash cans to 96-galllon bins. Alleyway trash cans are currently supplied privately by residents. The changes come as officials face the need to update the city's aging garbage fleet, which is filled with trucks that are no longer manufactured.
The new fleet requires these changes because the new trucks lack a rear-loading option. The trucks do have a side option for dumping extra trash, but no space for a collector to ride. Last month, Public Works Director Steven Salwei presented city commissioners with the results of a survey seeking public input on the future of garbage collection.
The survey showed that most residents favored a solution that would see higher surcharges for extra items while keeping costs low for regular trash collection. Salwei also made several recommendations to implement changes to garbage collection. Commissioners on Tuesday chose to approve the majority of Salwei's recommendations; however, the board removed one that would have provided a specialty one-time use bag.
The 33-gallon bags would have been available for $2 for residents who occasionally had extra garbage but not enough to justify a second 96-gallon bin. Connelly said he contacted other communities that offer a specialty bag option, and that the majority of the cities he spoke to spoke negatively of the option. He said it makes more sense from an efficiency and safety standpoint to keep drivers in their trucks.
The bag option would have required collectors to exit the truck to place the special bag in a resident's can before dumping it again. "Knowing everybody driving by, and winter and all of that, and how things get as icy -- if safety is the issue, the two cans is a much safer option than anybody getting out of (their trucks) for one bag here and one bag there," Connelly said. Cleary agreed, saying she believes the bags would not be as useful as the second 96-gallon bin option.
Salwei said his department was not fully supportive of the specialty bag option but wanted to propose ways to accommodate residents who may need it. "If you want to (remove) that option, we won't have any concerns with that," he said. "Most communities don't do that.
Given we have been collecting unlimited extras for so many years, we just decided to bring forth an option that somehow allows them to throw a little bit extra if they need to." The option for a second 96-gallon bin will cost residents around $8 monthly, or half the cost of their original garbage bin, excluding the curbside recycling fee. Residents will also be charged a one-time $50 fee for the delivery of the can and are required to keep the can for a minimum of one year.
The special collections service will have city workers pick up larger items and transport them to the landfill. The service will charge a $20 pickup fee, plus the cost of disposal for the items being picked up, which would follow the city's regular fee schedule. The service will be limited to five bulky items, such as mattresses or refrigerators.
The city will also look to convert all privately supplied trash bins for alleyway pickups to a city-provided 96-gallon container. The first container would be available free of charge, and residents could choose to purchase a second bin. Pickups would still take place in the alleyway and residents would be responsible for providing an open path for crews to grab the can.
Alleyway collections would be done by rear-loading trucks, which the city uses to load garbage collected in large dumpsters. "There was some concerns that we'd be treating the alleys differently than we're treating the other residents, and we found a way that we can dump the 96-gallon cans into the back of the rear load of vehicles," Salwei said. "We can purchase a can tipper that we can roll the can up to the back and it'll tip that can and dump it into the back of the truck.
" Salwei said implementation of the changes is slated to begin in January 2025. He said it may take longer to implement the alleyway changes because the city would need to order the bins but that affected residents would be mailed letters notifying them of when the new system goes into effect. Ever wonder what happens to your mattress when it's left out on the curb? Stu Mills explains why yours could end up in Nigeria, if the garbage truck doesn't get to it first.
Reach Zachary Weiand at 701-250-8264 or [email protected] .
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