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Highlands Today

Sebring Public Works Wants Automated Trash Pickup

Jasmina Meyer, Highlands Today

Director of Public Works Rob Miller and the Sebring City Council are deciding on new trash cans for automated residential trash service throughout the City of Sebring. Miller said they will choose based on cost and which will best suit the needs of the community.

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: March 7, 2009

SEBRING - New Public Works Director Rob Miller wants to take the first step toward automated trash pickup by retrofitting a new $170,000 front-load trash truck before it is delivered to the city.

The city council agreed when it voted unanimously Tuesday in its consent agenda to approve $10,000 for the retrofit.

"I want to look at automated trash collections for residential trash pickup," said Miller on Tuesday. "I could easily see it saving the city $100,000 a year in the long run."

However, there is an additional cost involved on top of the $10,000 approved Tuesday.

It would cost the city $10,000 for hydraulics and electronics to retrofit the truck and another $20,000 for an automated trash collection can so the truck could do both residential trash collection and pick up commercial accounts, Miller said.

That will have to go out for bid, Miller said Wednesday.

This would save the city $150,000 for a second truck, said Miller.

The city would order all the cans, said Miller. It would require the purchase of 5,000 cans at $50 each for a total of $250,000. Whether the city or the residential customers ultimately pay for the cans was a question for the city council, he said.

Each 64-gallon can comes with a 10-year warranty against damage, so if one breaks during normal use, the manufacturer would replace it, he added.

Residents are currently allowed to put out two 30-gallon cans per household for which they are charged.

Some people are putting out more than that so the city is actually losing revenue to pick up that trash, Miller said.

Trash is supposed to be in the cans, but that's not being enforced at this time. With the new cans, no trash would be accepted that is not inside the new cans.

Another savings could come in tipping fees, because the new cans have lids attached, so the city shouldn't get charged for dumping as much rain-soaked trash at the landfill.

So what happens to the 12 city workers currently picking up the trash or yard waste at the curb?

"At first my guys were nervous, 'Hey what happens to my job?'" he said. "But I told them I had no plan to lay anyone off."

Miller said he looked at spreading his employees out, with more of the public works employees focusing on yard waste, as well as performing maintenance on the city's commercial dumpsters. They cost the city about $600 each.

He wants to rotate them and steam clean them, "so our Dumpsters don't stink."

"Because I know when I go to a restaurant and it stinks outside, there's no way I'm going in to eat," he said.

Some jobs may be eliminated as people leave or retire, however.

Automation would reduce the fleet of trash trucks by half and the manpower in half but that's about five years down the road, he said.

"My ultimate goal is three trucks to pick up residential trash and commercial both," he said. "Our yard waste truck would keep going."

So by 2010 the city should have a pilot program in place.

"By 2011 we should have the entire city's residential trash collection automated," he said.

Highlands Today reporter Joe Seelig can be reached at (8 63) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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