Do You Have Trash Can Envy?

 

By day they’re strewn lovingly across the yard, they lie on their sides in the sun, some are half-tucked away in the little chain link and two-by-four barricades meant to hold them. They’re unsightly, but they’re mostly harmless.

By night, they show their true colors. Often found standing tall and proud at erratic intervals in the middle of the right lane on Avenue N. between Bryant and Jackson, obtrusive black trash barrels turn the street into anything but an exciting obstacle course; rather it’s more of a nuisance, a hazard, a cause for outrage, and an expensive little mishap should you not be able to swerve in time.

Most drivers have learned to avoid the lane, others are still rounding the learning curve (at accelerated speed and with the agility of a rally car driver), and still others are wondering why they should have to. Is there not a regulation in place to keep these cans in check?

“They’re supposed to be in a secured location,” says City of San Angelo Operations Director Shane Kelton. “…not just set up all willy-nilly out there. This is west Texas, so the wind will get to some and carry them off…and kids will too…but they’re supposed to be secured.”

And while supposed to may sound to some like nothing more than a suggestion, and wind and mischievous children may provide solid alibis, most drivers can attest to the fact that the barrels are in fact only rarely caged.

But with the trash collected from San Angelo alleys and Avenue N. serving as a rather long and busy one, can anything be done about the runaway cans?

The answer is, tentatively, yes.

We’ve all seen those big, fancy, blue trash carts on certain San Angelo streets, and some have probably started wondering why their neighborhoods don’t have them.

Well, the carts are part of a (now completed) pilot program initiated by Republic Services in the beginning of 2012 to provide the City Council with options when they begin renewing contracts.

The carts are part of an automated service, which requires a special truck with a hydraulic arm. The arm then does the lifting—that used to be the duty of two trash men—and empties the container into the truck.

Another upside? The trash carts are picked up next to the carports of houses rather than in the alleys, meaning Avenue N. would be free and clear, Republic Services Municipal Services Manager, Robert Searls says.

The pilot program showed a good response from the areas tested, and Republic Services General Manager Kenneth Ramzinski assures they tried to do a sampling representative of the entire community, placing 100 carts in each councilmember’s district, Ramzinski said.

Republic Services then hired a third party to survey participants following the pilot with a 71 percent response rate. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed liked using the cart and the service, Ramzinski said. “That was consistent in all the areas.”

But if the result of the pilot was so good, why don’t we all have the spiffy new cans? And furthermore, why are we still dodging the personal ones on Avenue N.?

Well, currently, the only thing holding the entire city back from enjoying the services of the fancy blue trash bins is a sluggish City Council.  Although the results of the survey and the pilot were presented to Council last October, the changeover of members and remaining Republic contract has stalled any forward action.

But it’s also dependent on Council making a decision on what the city needs. Republic offers both recycling and trash services, and basically it comes down to determining the services and the frequency of service that the city wants to go with, Searls says.

Republic Services intends to leave the nice bins in place until the Council reaches a decision. Should they opt for hand pick up, the bins will likely be re-collected. Until then, happy driving.

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"Well, currently, the only thing holding the entire city back from enjoying the services of the fancy blue trash bins is a sluggish City Council." Is this the same contract that prevents us from using our own trash cans and only allows us to have 1 or 2 blue ones (unless we want to pay extra). If this is the same decision that the city council has been sluggish on, then good for them. What if I have alot of trash that week? What if I do some spring cleaning and have alot to throw away? Do I just have to let it stink up my garage until they pick up the current load? I've seen too many of these subsidized trash contracts in other cities, and this is what it comes to. "The arm then does the lifting—that used to be the duty of two trash men" It definitely sounds like the same types of contracts I've seen in other cities. The downside? It's cheaper on the trash companies to not have to hire employees anymore. One person in the truck, automatic arm does the lifting. Cheaper on the trash companies, harder on any citizen who might want to exceed their trash can capacity or dispose of anything that doesn't fit in the can. "Another upside? The trash carts are picked up next to the carports of houses rather than in the alleys" Most of us who have alleys really like the fact that we don't have to display GIANT BRIGHT BLUE EYESORES OF TRASH proudly in front of our houses. "most drivers can attest to the fact that the barrels are in fact only rarely caged." Then give the owners of the trash cans citations. I'm sure they'll secure them very quickly. If you buy nice quality trash cans just like the "Free with strings attached" blue cans that Republic provides, then the wind won't blow those away. "Well, currently, the only thing holding the entire city back from enjoying the services of the fancy blue trash bins is a sluggish City Council." So....I see you have plenty of quotes from Republic Services, did you give the city council a chance to defend their actions? No, no you didn't, or you would've put "The San Angelo City Council has declined to comment." Please correct me if I'm wrong, if they've changed the proposal since the last time I've heard/read it, then I'd love to know that I'm wrong about this. But if this is the same thing they've been trying to get passed for years now, I'm afraid the "upsides" are only for the trash company, not for the citizens. This is the most irresponsibly biased article I've seen in a long time. Did the trash company sponsor this article? Maybe a little kickback somehow? Shame on you, San Angelo LIVE. There's no investigative journalism/reporting here. All you're doing is pointing out the benefits, and not the possible/probable consequences. Nothing is for free. The trash company has ulterior motives here, I assure you. Do I have trash can envy? Absolutely not.

Chelsea, one important point overlooked in your piece on trash cans today: a key point in the negotiations for trash service is pricing. Unless there’s a competitive bidding process, our citizens won’t get the best possible service options or pricing. Letting the contract expire and going through the bidding process will yield the greatest value to citizens; it’s the best approach from a fiscal and a service perspective.

That said, we haven’t pushed for expansion of the pilot program, understanding that it would be unfair to ask Republic to make that investment if they don’t have a long-term contract to be the City’s provider.

nice comments. One of my observations is that after the trash is dumped in the truck the cans are left unsecured on the ground in the middle of my alley.by the very company that wants even less hands on service. no one will benefit but the investors in republic trash. there is no room in the streets that have alleys for all these cans. when there are the occasional thunder storm here who will get the cans returned to the proper place when they all at the end of the street. the big blue cans do have serial numbers so we will be able to locate them when they go missing, one more thing we will have to do. and Illegal dumping will surely increase around the city

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