PLANNING UNDERWAY FOR CARY’S SHIFT TO

CURBSIDE GARBAGE COLLECTION

CARY, NC – Planning is underway in Cary for a shift this fall from backyard garbage collection to curbside collection, since curbside is the safest, most efficient, equitable, and economical way for the Town to collect solid waste.  Under the current plan, one rollout cart will be delivered to each of about 33,000 Cary solid waste customers over eight weeks beginning in late September.  Once customers receive their carts, all of their waste—garbage, yard, and recycling—will be collected on the same day—their current solid waste collection day.

The Town will continue providing backyard collection for customers whose physicians state that they are physically unable to bring the new solid waste cart to the curb.  Cary has successfully supported similar special collections practices for more than a decade for about 100 recycling customers.

Existing town home and condominium customers with three or more units to the building will continue to be served by backyard collection since middle units may not be able to get their waste around the outer units and to the curb.  Customers in these buildings will not receive a solid waste cart from the Town.  However, all of these customers’ waste—recycling, yard, and garbage—will be collected on the same day—their current solid waste collection day.

“We’ve looked at this long and hard in hopes of establishing a program that best fits Cary,” said Public Works Director Mike Bajorek. 

Part of the plan calls for a comprehensive communications effort that will help citizens know what to expect and do.

“Based on the research we’ve done and our experiences with other programs, we know that having frequent, open communications with citizens will be key to our success,” added Bajorek.

As part of the communications effort, Bajorek and other Town staff will be making presentations to local homeowners groups starting in August.  Information about the shift is already on the Town’s Web site, on the Town’s television channel, and in the Town’s monthly utility bill newsletter.  As implementation begins, customers will also receive a brochure, postcards, and cart hangers.

The decision to go to curbside came as part of the Cary Town Council’s adoption of the FY 2006 Budget based on evidence that changing from backyard collection to fully automated curbside collection now will help hold necessary cost increases to their lowest levels, saving customers millions of dollars in the coming years.  In addition, a 2004 survey showed that a majority Cary citizens support switching to curbside.

At this point, Cary and Winston-Salem are the only large cities in North Carolina still providing backyard collection.

For more, see Solid Waste Collection at www.townofcary.org or call (919) 469-4090.

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