Keeping tabs on trash collection dates has become bit of a messy situation in the City of Batavia.
In an effort to make sure residents are in compliance with the City Code that governs refuse pick-up, Interim City Manager Matt Worth has been doing some research into other communities’ policies and has offered some recommendations moving forward.
Worth addressed the issue at Monday night’s City Council meeting, supported by a memo to City Council dated Sept. 19.
According to Worth, the City Code provides flexibility for residents in regard to designated pick-up days, the number of bags and the time period for placement at the curb. The City Code allows for trash to be placed at the curb after 3 p.m. the day before scheduled collection and for containers to be removed with 24 hours after collection.
He said that on streets where refuse pick-up occurs several days of the week, it has become difficult for city staff to enforce the time restrictions. Furthermore, he said that enforcement officers have discovered that, in many cases, new tenants have moved into apartments and didn’t know their trash pick-up day or that the landlord has changed refuse collection vendors.
Worth reported that four primary refuse collection vendors operate in the City, picking up trash primarily on Monday through Friday. Currently, all City residents and businesses contract directly with independent vendors.
City Council Member Robert Bialkowski said his goal was to develop a four-day pick-up schedule (Tuesday through Friday) with regulations governing the type of vehicle that can be used.
“Right now, you can put garbage out every day and say a friend is picking it up the next day – and it would be completely legal,” Bialkowski said.
Worth reported that he looked at trash collection policies of neighboring communities, specifically the towns of Greece and Henrietta and the Village of Brockport. All three have licensing requirements (including fees, proof of insurance and vehicle compliance standards) on refuse collection vendors and have restricted pick-up days.
He added that he plans to continue the dialog with the vendors to find a viable solution before looking at the imposition of licensing.
“Imposing regulations upon a vendor with existing collection routes without hearing their concerns and recommendations would be problematic,” he said, noting that free-market practices minus government interference “helps to keep the rates and service levels competitive and should be a consideration …”
Following the discussion, City Council directed Worth to move forward with his communication with the vendors and provide updates.
