Public hearing set on trash proposal

Joplin Metro

Discussion

March 14, 2010

Joplin council to decide on requested change

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sun Mar 14, 2010, 07:27 PM CDT

By Debby Woodin

dwoodin@joplinglobe.com

Joplin residents will have a chance today to tell the City Council what they think about the proposed change to a polycart trash pickup service.

Comments may be made during a public hearing scheduled for the council’s regular meeting at 6 p.m. on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St.

The city’s franchised hauler, Allied Waste, is proposing the change. Representatives of the company have said the system involves dumping the carts with automated trucks instead of having work crews manually empty trash cans.

It expedites pickup, results in less labor costs, and is safer for both residents and employees than handling trash bags that can contain sharp objects, representatives of Allied Waste have said. If the plan is approved by the council, residential customers would be issued one, 96-gallon wheeled cart at no cost that would be used for all refuse disposal except bulky items.

Joplin residents would no longer have to buy or maintain trash cans. The company would repair or replace broken carts. The cart holds the volume of three regular-sized trash cans. Residents who want more than one cart may rent an extra one for $5 a month, said Mary Anne Phillips, the city’s recycling coordinator.

Because the system involves the use of automated trucks that dump the polycart contents, Allied Waste would not pick up bags of trash or any trash left outside the cart, company representative Jennifer Fagan told the council in an earlier presentation.

Fagan said that although the company would buy the carts and the new trucks for the service, the change would not result in any increase in current rates beyond an annual increase that already exists in the company’s contract with the city.

Joplin’s residential trash pickup rate is $9.25 a month, which includes a 40-cent billing fee and a 15-cent management fee. Under the contract, the rate will go to $9.77, which includes the same fees, as of April 1.

Annual rate adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index, which this year increased 5.9 percent, Phillips said earlier. If that index goes down, the monthly rate does not increase.

Fagan told the City Council that residents who are disabled will be assisted with their trash removal, as they are currently.

The polycart system already has been started in Carthage and Carl Junction, where residents and city officials say it has been generally well-received with a few problems reported. In Carthage, there have been some complaints from residents who live on hills and must maneuver the carts down stairs.

In Carl Junction, some seniors expressed concerns about the system until they learned there would be no rate hike related to the new service.

Residents of Seneca are waiting on carts to be delivered to start the system there.

Nancy Kirby, Seneca’s city collector, said officials at City Hall have been contacted by a number of residents expressing concerns.

“A lot of elderly people feel it’s an inconvenience,” Kirby said. “They have seen this enormous polycart, and they feel it might be difficult for them to move around. It’s overkill for them.”

But others in Seneca believe the new system will be better, Kirby said.

“For the most part, the average person with a family thinks it’s pretty neat,” she said.

Fagan told the City Council that a small cart could be issued to senior residents who cannot use the large one.

Trash pickup

If the proposed polycart system goes into effect, there would be no trash pickup in alleys because the new trucks are too big to travel the alleys. All pickup would be from the street.

Text Only

Joplin Metro

Longtime Democrat dies at 81
Sapp, 81, died Thursday. Funeral services were Monday at the First Presbyterian Church of Joplin. A longtime Jasper County Democratic committeewoman and volunteer, Sapp for years was secretary to the county’s central committee.

August 9, 2010 1 Photo
Motivational speaker offers free marriage course
Presented by Mark Gungor, the course is being offered free to the community. The event is being held to aid in tornado relief.

January 12, 2012
District sends faculty, administrators on site visits
With the design phase of several buildings in Joplin Schools ending in May, the district has sent 66 administration, faculty, parents and community members on site visits to 22 schools and two technology company headquarters across the country.

January 11, 2012
Mural depicting Joplin High School dedicated
A four-paneled mural depicting the recent history of Joplin High School was dedicated at the Memorial 9th- and 10th-grade Center Tuesday morning. The mural will be moved to the new high school when it is completed in 2014.

January 10, 2012 4 Photos
Carl Junction chamber creating new committees
The Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce is kicking off three new committees this week with meetings scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday.

January 9, 2012
Body of missing Joplin man found
The body of a missing Joplin man was discovered this afternoon inside his home in the Royal Heights neighborhood of Joplin.

January 3, 2012
Wildcat Glades nature center receives $50,000 grant
The Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center has received a $50,000 TogetherGreen Innovation Grant, which is being provided through an alliance between the National Audubon Society and Toyota.

October 21, 2011
Joplin shooting victim’s name released
The Joplin Police Department today released the name of a woman fatally shot in her home early Thursday and acknowledged that the shooting was reported as a suicide attempt.

October 21, 2011
Barry Manilow to deliver donated instruments
Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow will visit Joplin next week to donate more than $300,000 in musical instruments to replace those lost during the May 22 tornado.

October 21, 2011
Extreme Makeover releases names of families
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" has released more details about the build in the 2400 block of Connor Avenue, including the names of the seven families. They are:

October 19, 2011
More Joplin Metro Headlines

Water company cites reconnections

Joplin Metro

Search Results

Discussion

Public hearing set on trash proposal

Joplin council to decide on requested change

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Site Map

Contact Us