Starting in March, 778 Households Will Begin Program Of Once-Per-Week Pickups With City-Provided Containers
ROCKVILLE, Md., December 2, 2005—Rockville’s Mayor and Council this week unanimously approved a limited pilot program that would modernize the City’s refuse collection program for 778 designated households. Those homes would be provided 96-gallon refuse containers that should easily hold a week’s worth of refuse. Their collections would be reduced from twice to once per week.
The pilot program will give the City and its residents an opportunity to study a more-efficient collection method that would help stabilize the spiraling costs of collecting refuse. The pilot program would eliminate backyard collections, which are offered by less than five percent of jurisdictions nationally. The containers that will be supplied to each household will enable the City to use semi-automated refuse trucks.
It is estimated that if all refuse collections in Rockville were conducted under the provisions of the pilot program, the City would save approximately $381,000 annually. Refuse rates increased by 8.8 percent in FY 2005 and by 6.3 percent in FY 2006 to $29.50 per month. However, with the new system, it is projected annual increases from FY 2008 through FY 2014 would be limited to between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent. If the current system was kept in tact, it is estimated the monthly collection fee would by $40.50 per month in 2014, but under the proposed modern system, the fee would be an estimated $35 per month per household.
The City elected to try the pilot program after a March 2005 survey of 1,065 households conducted for the City’s Department of Public Works showed that 72 percent of all respondents were supportive of the City making decisions that would keep refuse rates down. In the survey, 76 percent of respondents supported elimination of backdoor service to control rate increases and 55 percent supported once-a-week collections if provided with a large, wheeled trash cart.
The nine-month pilot program will begin in March. The City will conduct a survey midway through the program and another at the end of the program to gain residents’ evaluations and see if there are ways to improve. The Mayor and Council would then evaluate the results and determine if the program should be expanded.
The pilot program would significantly cover the Hungerford and Monument neighborhoods—and would include the households of two members of the Mayor and Council (Mayor Larry Giammo and Councilmember Susan Hoffmann). The City coordinated with the respective neighborhood civic associations and will embark on a major public information campaign to inform residents of the impending program.
Not only would residents in the pilot receive 96-gallon wheeled refuse containers, they also will receive 64-gallon carts for mixed paper recycling and 22-gallon bins for commingled recycling (such as bottles and cans).
Rockville’s Director of Public Works Craig Simoneau said the new program will have many benefits. The elimination of backdoor service, combined with semi-automated trucks, will lesson injuries to workers. He also noted that since recycling items must be brought to the curb, but refuse can be left in backyard containers, some people are not inspired to recycle because it is easier to leave recycle-eligible items mixed with refuse. The City must pay Montgomery County a tipping fee per ton of refuse, but no fee is charged for commingled and paper recyclables.
In addition, the bigger containers will control the amount of loose refuse and recycled paper that could blow around if left in undersized containers currently used by some homeowners. This will keep neighborhoods cleaner and make it easier for residents to prepare the refuse and recycle to be set out.
“This is not just a cost issue, it also is an environmental issue,” Simoneau told the Mayor and Council. “We believe it is the right thing to do for everyone.”
“I see this as a pilot, and whether we end up with once a week or twice a week service, at least we will have some information on which to make a decision,” said Councilmember Phyllis Marcuccio.
Mayor Giammo said, “I am looking forward to getting my bins.”
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