This story is about the new 95-gallon trash carts the mayor’s office wants to install and how people feel about it.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Mayor’s office is planning to install 95 gallon trash carts in people’s residences. This is so they can reduce trash on the streets and so workers don’t have to lift up trash cans themselves and have a semi-automated truck do it.
Syracuse’s Chief Operating Officer Corey Driscoll Dunham says it will reduce the wear and tear for sanitation workers and reduce workers compensation cost.
“One of them is the workers comp cost and the damages that our sanitation workers end up doing to their bodies to lift 50 pound-bins 200-300 times a day,” said Dunham.
As of right now residents have three 32 gallon trash carts. They are easy to knock over and trash then gets spilled out onto the street. But with one 95 gallon trash cart it takes up less space and it’s much stronger so it won’t get knocked over and there won’t be as much trash onto the streets.
At a common council meeting a lot of residents had a problem with the fact that four to ten unit apartments won’t get these trash cans for free. These apartment buildings would have to pay for it and it could increase rent for tenants. Syracuse Resident Greg Smith thinks everybody should get free trash.
“Not so keen on the idea of not providing sanitation services to some of our citizens,” said Smith. “What you have to look at is trash picking up service is a service to residents.”
If the 95 gallon trash cart initiative gets passed through council then the city plans to roll out carts to 20% of residents to see how it goes.
Transcript
Saral Khare: Under the new trash can proposal, sanitation workers would no longer heave trash contents into a dump truck- but a semi-automated arm would do the job.. something the city says would be good for it’s workers.
Corey Driscoll Dunham: One of them is the workers comp cost and the damges that our sanitation workers end up doing to their bodies to lift 50 pound bins 200-300 times a day
Khare: And that arm would pick up just one very large trash cart that holds triple the volume of a standard trash can.
Khare: Dunham says that as of now residents have three 32 gallons trash carts but with one 95 gallon trash cart it takes up less space on the streets and it’s much harder to knock over so that there won’t be as much trash spilled out onto the street”
Khare: Dozens of residents attended a public meeting about the proposal last night. One flaw some see is four to ten unit apartments would not get the new and free trash pickup. Those apartment buildings would not get the new and free trash pickup.
Greg Smith: Not so keen on the idea of not providing sanitation services to some of our citizens what you have to look at is trash is picking up service is a service to residents
Khare: Another concern at the meeting was it will reduce the amount of jobs for trash can workers. But Dunham says that isn’t the case.
Dunham: By having a more efficient process for this weekly trash pickup we can dedicate that staff to other things so we can dedicate them more to litter picking we can dedicate them to addressing bulk setouts or illegal dumping’s so reduction in staff is not at all a part of this plan
Khare: If the 95 gallon trash cart initiative gets passed through council Dunham says they plan to roll 20% to residents in May and June.
From Syracuse, Saral Khare, NCC News.