Kansas City, Missouri – People living in 12 neighborhoods in Kansas City are going to get new bins for their trash because the city is starting to use trucks that pick up trash by themselves.
On February 1, Kansas City Council agreed to a rule called Ordinance 240093. This rule sets aside money to give trash bins to homes in Kansas City that the city picks up trash from.
Two ways to pick up the trash: fully automatic and semi-automatic
Public Works officials explained that there are two ways to pick up trash: one that’s fully automatic and one that’s partly automatic. Right now, Kansas City uses the partly automatic way, which is better for streets where lots of cars are parked.
The city’s cleaning department also mentioned that trucks that pick up trash all by themselves need just one person to drive them and can handle 800-1,000 houses in one go. These trucks have a special arm that grabs the trash bins, empties them into the truck, and then puts the bins back.
On the other hand, the partly automatic trucks, and Kansas City has 40 of these, need three people to run them and can take care of 900 to 1,100 houses each time they go out.
Right now, there are 12,000 people living in 12 different areas of the city who have their trash picked up by the city service. These are the neighborhoods:
- Washington Wheatley
- Ivanhoe
- Columbus Park
- Marlborough
- Manheim
- Center City
- Citadel
- Eastern 49/63
- NE Industrial District
- Santa Fe
- Squier Park
- Tower Homes Association
People living in these areas will soon receive two 65-gallon bins: one for trash, which will be blue with a grey lid, and one for recycling, which will be blue with a yellow lid. It’s important that all trash is bagged and the bin lids fully closed before collection.
To start, the city will stick to the partly automatic way of collecting trash and then slowly move to fully automatic. Those with disabilities will not have to follow this change.
City leaders believe these new bins will help cut down on illegal dumping since each bin can hold up to 240 lbs. They also think it will no longer be necessary to have special days where you can throw away extra trash. The change should also help keep trash and recycling from blowing away on windy days.
Public Works thinks this new system will make trash collection more efficient, improve the service they provide, and lower the chances of workers getting hurt or leaving their jobs. The bins are designed to keep animals out of the trash.
The plan to get the necessary equipment and start giving out the bins is still being worked on, but the first set of bins is expected to be delivered in May 2024. Homes that have their trash picked up on Fridays will get their bins first, and all homes should have them by October 2024.
It will cost about $8.5 million in total for the 170,000 trash bins needed, including delivery and setup costs.
To deal with the increasing amount of trash each household produces, the Public Works department suggests charging fees at trash transfer stations and starting a partnership to focus on reducing waste. They also recommend continuing to look into ways to recycle, reuse, and compost more.
Read also: Person shot near the Willow Creek apartments on January 31 dies due to the injuries
More details will be shared in the next few weeks.
