Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 20, 1993 TAG: 9302200209
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BACKYARD TRASH CUTS PLANNED
Come June, Roanoke plans to stop collecting garbage in the back yards of city residents.The elimination of backyard service would affect nearly one-third of the city's 36,000 households. They would be required to take their garbage to the street curb.
The other two-thirds either have alley collection or voluntarily take their garbage cans to the street curb already.
City Manager Bob Herbert said that ending backyard service would save the city $368,000 a year.
The money would be used to help offset the cost of a new landfill and an expanded recycling program.
There would be no change in collection service for residents who currently place their garbage at the alleys at the rear of their houses. Neither would there be any change for those who already take their cans to the curb.
Herbert, who proposed an end to backyard collection last summer, will brief City Council on the plan Monday. He will ask council to approve it at its March 1 meeting.
If council approves the plan as expected, the city manager has recommended that it be implemented by June 1.
Neighborhood leaders say there seems to be little opposition.
City officials have made presentations to neighborhood and community organizations about the proposal in recent weeks.
Salem, Vinton and Roanoke County already require their residents to take their garbage to the curb or alley.
Herbert said that one of the concerns is elderly and handicapped people who are unable to take their cans to the curb.
If people can't carry their garbage, he said, they can keep backyard service if they have a statement from a doctor.
The city has developed a one-page form to be completed by residents and their physicians.
The city also developed a "premium service" plan that would enable residents to retain backyard collection if they are willing to pay for it.
The fees would be based on the distance between the curb and pickup point. The monthly charge for 100 feet or less would be $10. For a distance of 200 feet, it would be $17; and for 400 feet, $31.
Backyard collection requires more manpower and time. Ending the service would enable the city to eliminate 19 jobs. Six would be shifted to an expanded recycling program, leaving a net reduction of 13. The jobs would be eliminated by attrition. Herbert said no one would be laid off.
Approximately $142,000 of the annual savings would be used to help pay for the state-mandated recycling program, leaving a net reduction of $226,000 a year, Herbert said.
When the new regional landfill opens, the city's garbage disposal costs will increase by $1 million a year because the dumping fee will increase to $60 a ton, up from $20.
Eliminating backyard collection service is a key to cutting costs to help cover the landfill expenses, city officials said.
Construction also has started on a trash-transfer station where garbage will be loaded onto a special train to be taken to the landfill at Smith Gap in Roanoke County. The station will be on a 22-acre tract at 1002 Hollins Road, south of Orange Avenue.