Automated trash collection begins in Columbia. Here's where to place your roll carts
Following delivery of roll carts throughout February, Columbia Solid Waste now is ready to start collecting them as the city's new automated collection system goes into effect.
The city still is asking for customer patience as truck drivers acclimate to new routes and procedures for trash collection.
"The guys are new to the trucks and routes are different than what they're used to, so it may take them a little longer. Give us a couple weeks or a month and the more they get used to it, the faster they will get," said Matt Nestor, Columbia Utilities spokesperson.
The automated system does help ease some staffing shortage issues, though minimally, Nestor said.
"We were running eight trucks with two-men each, so 16 people. We now have nine trucks with one person each and two trucks with two people each, so that's 13," he said.
More than 36,000 roll carts were distributed to residents ahead of Monday's automated collection start date. Carts should be placed at the curb or street level, with their lid completely closed. Roll carts should be spaced at least three feet apart and with an eight-foot buffer from other objects, such as mailboxes. Following collection, residents should store their cart next to their house, garage or other outbuilding that is away from the street.
"We are excited to get this moving forward and we thank everyone for their patience. We know it has been a long rollout and it takes time to deliver that many carts to that many addresses. We are happy with the timeline we chose and I think we are ready," Nestor said.
If the roll cart a resident selected ended up too big or not big enough for their needs, they have the option to do a free cart switch within 120 days (roughly four months), Nestor said. After that it will cost $25 to get a different cart. If a resident has a larger than usual trash load, such as after a party, they can call utility customer service at 573-874-7380 to arrange a secondary trash pick-up, he added.
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The transition to the automated system means the city will eliminate some of its old trash collection trucks. Nestor did not yet know where the old trucks will be sold, but did say that they will get reused and repurposed elsewhere.
The automated system is for trash collection only. Curbside pick-up of recycling resumes March 18 and is back on its biweekly schedule after its temporary suspension from last year.
"We got seven new guys in within the last couple of months and so we are picking up where we left off," Nestor said, adding that doesn't mean solid waste is at full capacity regarding staffing. The department still is having to rely on temporary workers through an agency. "It gives us a solid enough foundation that we can do this."
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Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia begins automated roll cart trash collection. What to know
