Denver launched its effort to stop illegal dumping in the city’s alleys Tuesday by rolling out thousands of new black trash carts to residents who were served by the large, industrial roll-out trash bins.
A team of city officials, led by Mayor Michael Hancock, visited the 4800 block of Adams Street, in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, to deliver the trash carts.
To change the way Denver takes out the trash, 20,000 of the 68,000 homes using the city’s so-called Dumpster Collection Service will be switched to cart-based trash service in 2014.
After this change, there will be a total of 77,000 homes with cart-based trash service. Still left will be 48,000 with the large industrial bin service and 42,000 residents who still have trash collected by hand.
Many residents on Adams Street were waiting outside for their trash carts to arrive. One woman, Anita Reinpold, was giddy and excited when she met Hancock.
“Welcome to our neighborhood,” Reinpold said to Hancock while shaking his hand. “This is so exciting. Thank you so much.”
One resident, David Aguadl, had his trash cart delivered by Hancock, who told Aguadl that he uses the same trash carts at home and cautioned him to get the cart on the curb in time.
“I’ve had to chase down the trucks before,” the mayor said, laughing.
The Denver Public Works project’s goal is to extend the use of the carts and standardize collections in three to five years.
Public Works officials said they expect to see savings for Denver as the city moves toward full standardization. They are expecting less trash going to the dump, and standardization also would reduce the number of trucks needed because cart-based trash trucks can hold more waste per route.
Officials said 80 percent of illegal dumping happens in the neighborhoods with the Dumpster Collection Services.
Reinpold said she has watched construction workers use her alley bin; many times they miss the container altogether, leaving trash and scattering broken glass on the ground.
“If you drive in the alley, it could give you a flat tire,” she said.
Not all the residents were pleased with the switch.
Yadira Sanchez, who stood in her garage Tuesday watching the commotion, said she never thought the illegal dumping was a problem. She said she thinks the new carts are not big enough and will cause more illegal dumping in back yards.
“What are you going to do with a big family gathering?” Sanchez said, adding that her family of six would fill up their new trash cart in a matter of seconds.
City officials say that every three weeks, residents with trash cart services are scheduled for overflow collection where they can set out additional heavy-duty bags or cans with their normal trash.
After all the residents on the 4800 block of Adams Street received their new bins, an alley bin tagged with graffiti was lifted onto a truck already carrying others. Hancock stood among a crowd and waved goodbye to the truck.
Corrie Sahling: 303-954-1223, csahling@denverpost.com or twitter.com/corriesahling
