New details on the city’s transition to roll cart waste collection were shared Wednesday by an official and will help residents prepare for the switch this spring.
Residents will have to place roll carts in the street with the wheels against the curb, and roll carts should not be within 8 feet of other objects, said Steve Hunt, assistant director of utilities for Columbia’s Solid Waste Utility.
Hunt spoke to about 35 residents Wednesday about the city’s waste and recycling systems at a Lunch & Learn event at the Columbia Public Library.
For residents living in areas with many parked cars, such as East Campus, workers will follow recycling trucks in separate vehicles to ensure that the trucks can access the carts. The city will also employ smaller waste collection trucks that do not require a commercial license to drive.
“We have some pretty narrow streets in some areas of town with on-street parking and so forth,” Hunt said. “So we’re going to utilize those smaller trucks in those areas.”
The city has leased 10 large waste collection vehicles to assist with roll cart waste collection, Hunt said. The trucks, which will arrive by the end of the year, have arms designed to collect waste in roll carts.
Hunt also spoke about recycling, as the city stopped curbside recycling pickup in May. Residents may continue to drop off their recycling at recycling centers, but cannot recycle from their homes due to an ongoing worker shortage.
Fifty-five commercially-licensed truck drivers can operate for Solid Waste Utility, and 17 of those positions are currently unoccupied. Columbia City Council recently authorized pay raises for multiple positions — including these — and the city is hopeful to continue recycling pickup in the future.
