GENTRY — Members of the water and sewer committee are recommending the city prepare and adopt an ordinance regulating the use of the new poly-cart trash receptacles provided to Gentry trash customers by Allied Waste Services.
Recommended by the committee is an ordinance which would require Gentry residents to move the trash receptacles behind the street-side edges of homes except for 24 hours before and after trash pickup.
A $25 fine was suggested at the Jan. 17 meeting as appropriate for those whodo not comply with the ordinance and fail to move the poly-carts back behind the streetside edges of their homes.
Alsodiscussed and suggested was a warning for the first violation before fines begin to be imposed.
The suggestions were to be referred to the city attorney for preparation of a draft ordinance for council consideration.
Allied Waste Services of Bella Vista, Gentry’s trash service provider, delivered the new 95-gallon receptacles in December, together with instructions for their use, and now use a truck equipped with a special arm to lift and dump the trash containers.
Included in use instructions are the following:
◊Trash containers should be put out for pickup by 7 a.m. on scheduled trash pickup days;
◊Trash receptacles should be placed curbside with the hinged side of the lid away from the street, no more than 2 feet from the street and a minimum of 6 feet away from parked cars and other obstacles (and a minimum of 3 feet from other trash receptacles), and with 12 feet of overhead clearance;
◊All trash should be contained inside the cart - trash placed on the ground will not be picked up;
◊All trash should bebagged to prevent it from falling or blowing out onto the street when the receptacles are dumped;
◊Trash containers should not be overloaded to exceedtheir size or 200-pound weight limit;
◊Items which may not be placed in the receptacles include dirt, sod, concrete, rock, construction or demolition debris, household hazardous waste, animal waste, leaves, grass clippings, hot ashes or flammable materials such as oil, gasoline, paint, batteries, engine parts or tires.
The new trash receptacles are the property of Allied Waste Services and will be replaced by the company when needed due tonormal wear. Customers will be charged for replacement when the containers are damaged due to negligence or abuse.
Trash pickup days remain unchanged for now. If changes are made in the future, customers will be notified of the changes in advance.
For more information on the use of the new trash receptacles, call Allied at 800-627-1717.
Also discussed by the water and sewer committee on Jan. 17 was the question of whether the city should provide additional limb and yard waste pickups during the year.
Councilman James Furgason said additional pickup days were needed because of the citizens who do not have any means to dispose of tree branches and yard waste.
“A limb pickup one or two times a year is not adequate,” Furgason said.
Council members Janie Parks and Janice Arnold suggested that disposal of tree branches and yard waste is the property owner’s responsibility rather than something which the city must provide.
Water and Sewer Department supervisor David McNair said the city’s providing of the service has caused a confused community.
“Residents don’t know if the city will pick up (their tree branches and yard waste) or if it is their responsibility,” McNair said.
Janie Parks recommended that the city not provide any limb pickup. The trash service already provides leaf pickup two times a year, she added.
News, Pages 3 on 02/01/2012