It's an ambitious delivery schedule - handing out 60,000 new garbage carts over a three-week span to every Knoxville household, beginning Thursday, Dec. 1.
But Knoxville officials are enthusiastic about the efforts to modernize and improve the City’s household garbage collection - and that all starts with the new carts.
"This was a unique opportunity to put in place a long-term plan to enhance and modernize garbage collection operations, and save a lot of taxpayer money, over the next 15 to 20 years," Mayor Madeline Rogero said at a press conference today. "We did our homework. Staff and our consultants worked on this for months to determine the best way to improve services while reducing costs. We studied best practices throughout the country and across the South, and we analyzed a variety of options. Ultimately, the best and most cost-effective approach became clear."
The Mayor recommended purchasing these 60,000 standardized carts, and City Council this fall approved the purchase for $2.9 million. The cart purchase was a strategic investment that will pay for itself in about a year and half.
Right after the cart purchase was approved, Council approved a competitively-bid collection contract with Waste Connections. The two contracts were separate but intertwined. Waste Connections’ trucks are designed to hoist these receptacles and dump the trash into the back of the garbage trucks. That means fewer injuries and improved working conditions for garbage collectors.
The improved efficiency saves City taxpayers $2 million every year on trash collection.
Check out the Waste Connections truck and cart demonstration at Monday's press conference, held at the Blackstock Avenue surface parking lot where the carts are being assembled:
There are other benefits. For one thing, the new carts will be a big improvement aesthetically. No more loose trash bags that raccoons can rip open. No more lidless cans that allow litter to blow out and pollute neighborhoods.
As of Jan. 1, trash collection operations in the City, using these 60,000 wheeled carts, will be more efficient, cleaner, and safer for the garbage collectors – while also saving $2 million a year for taxpayers.
Rachel Butzler, the City's Solid Waste Manager, said 3,000 to 4,000 carts will be delivered daily once the rollout begins. The carts will be delivered near the bottom of a resident's driveway, and residents are asked to take it to their usual storage location until it is time to take it to the curb in January. Residents can begin using the new cart for garbage pickup starting Monday, Jan. 2, 2017.
Residents should put their garbage in the cart and bring the cart to the usual pickup location with the handle toward the house. The lid on the cart must be closed with no additional bags placed on top. No changes are expected in the day of the week that crews will pick up garbage in specific neighborhoods.