MARYSVILLE – Recycling soon will get easier for residents, while garbage collecting will get easier for city workers.
Beginning in September, residents will begin seeing new gray wheel-around garbage carts and blue recycling bins.
With the recycling bins, residents will no longer have to sort materials into three containers. And with the new automated garbage collection system, city employees no longer will have to get out of their trucks and pick up and carry cans.
The City Council recently approved $415,058 to purchase the garbage carts from Schaefer Systems International of Charlotte, N.C.
The council also extended its recycling contract with Waste Management Northwest for three more years.
City crews collect garbage from 7,800 customers. With the new system, people with a 32-gallon container will get a 36-gallon cart, while those with a 20-gallon can will get a 36-gallon cart with a 20-gallon insert.
“The carts are easier to roll to the street, the attached lids will keep garbage from becoming litter, and they’re safer for residents and our collectors, reducing the potential for on-the-job injuries and medical claims,” fleet and facilities manager Bill Spies said.
The new system will use a retractable mechanical arm to grab and lifts the containers and dump them into the truck, Spies said. A single driver operates the arm using a joystick, which eliminates the need for the driver to get out and lift the trash containers, city spokesman Doug Buell said.
Samples of the new cans are on display at City Hall, 1049 State Ave.; the Ken Baxter Senior Community Center, 514 Delta Ave.; and the Public Works Building, 80 Columbia Ave.
The collection schedule won’t change.
Meanwhile, Marysville also is switching to single-stream recycling, which means customers can put all their recyclable materials into one cart.
With the single container, recycling collection will change to every other week instead of weekly. The schedule will be attached to each recycling cart.
Customers can keep the three bins they currently use to sort paper, plastic and metal recyclables.
City employees will notify customers of the coming changes through notices in utility bills, by postcard and through the media, Buell said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
