New garbage and recycling carts being delivered
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
The City of Merrill will begin their new automated garbage and recycling pickup program on June 6, 2022.
In preparation for the new program’s launch, City residents are receiving their new 95-gallon roll-out garbage and recycling collection carts this week and next. The carts will be delivered to residents on their curbs, and will be placed in the spot where the City’s two new automated garbage and recycling trucks will empty them beginning the week of June 6. Please do NOT begin using the new carts until June 6.
Complete information on the program was mailed out a few weeks ago, and another packet of information will be inside one of the carts when they are delivered.
The cart designated for garbage will be blue with a black lid, and the recycling cart will be blue with a yellow lid.
Garbage should be bagged and placed inside the cart, and the cart should be returned to the curbside pickup location on garbage pickup day each week. The automated program will increase efficiencies, so garbage pickup days will change for many residents, as pickup will be weekly Monday through Thursday starting June 6 except during holiday weeks.
Recycling pickup will switch to every other week as indicated on the calendar, and recyclables should be put into the cart clean, loose, and unsorted the way it was placed into the previous bins and placed in the curbside location on pickup days (every other week).
An important note: When placed side-by-side on the curb for pickup on the same day, it is important that each cart have ample room around it for the automated, retracting arms on the truck to reach in and around the cart to grab it, empty it into the truck, and then replace the empty cart back on the curb.
During the rest of the week, and except on pickup days, the carts should be stored neatly on the property, either indoors or outside.
Each single-family home will receive one garbage cart and one recycling cart at no charge, and the cart will have a serial number that assigns it to the particular home. Multiple-family homes and businesses will receive two of each cart. Additional carts may also be purchased from the Merrill Street Department if businesses or residences determine more are needed on a regular basis and will also incur an additional annual pickup charge. For short-term overages, residents can check with a neighbor to see if they have room in their cart, as additional bags of garbage or bins of recyclables will no longer be picked up unless they are inside of the appropriate cart.
The program for picking up yard waste such as bags of leaves and bundles of sticks or large item pickup is not affected by the program.
The new program will increase safety for City workers, decrease the number of workers required on each route by half, and be faster and more efficient, freeing up City employees to focus on other City projects, according to Street Superintendent Dustin Bonack,
Ken Neff at the Merrill Chamber of Commerce did a video outlining the details and benefits of the new program. To view that video, go to: https://youtu.be/nabFHHQIKTU.