The President of Sunrise Sanitation, Kristie Blackman, says beginning April 7th, all trash picked up will be in company-provided totes.
She told the Salem City Council Monday night distribution of the totes will begin next week. When they are delivered, they will be placed where they will work for pickup by the arm on the garbage truck. Blackman says the totes will hold about the same amount as three trash cans. If that isn’t enough, residents will be able to pay extra to get a second tote.
Blackman says notes will be left on the totes of those who need to make a change in pickup location or need to address another problem.
Blackman says cardboard boxes will also be an issue.
“Boxes are going to be a big issue, always are,” Blackman said. “If somebody orders a lot from Amazon or Costco or wherever, they’re probably going to need to purchase that second tote and break down their boxes and put them inside of there.”
Blackman says large boxes can be picked up, but there may be an additional fee, especially if you use the service often.
Blackman provided the city with a quote to have a spring city-wide cleanup.
City Manager Annette Sola hopes to avoid the cleanup due to its cost, but Blackman noted that almost 100 percent of the city’s residents utilized the fall cleanup last year. She added that most larger cities offer both the spring and fall cleanup. The fall clean-up will be held as usual this year as it is already included in Sunrise Sanitation’s contract.
Sola hopes to promote having large items picked up for an extra fee by calling Sunrise Sanitation. Mayor Nic Farley said the service worked great, but only six have utilized the service in the past year.
This story has been updated to include that the fall cleanup will take place as usual this year as it is already part of the Sunrise Sanitation contract.
