Residents will be able to toss nearly everything they no longer want - including the kitchen sink - out on the curb again this spring during a citywide cleanup program.
Waste Management Inc. received City Council approval to try a two-part residential spring cleanup program this year. Although the program's cost is slightly more than residents currently pay, they won't have to cover the difference this spring.The city plans to cover the cost difference for residents this year, said Orem Mayor Stella Welsh. The council will re-evaluate the charge during upcoming budget discussions.
Waste Management estimates its two-phase program will cost $1.24 per home per month. Residents currently pay .97-cents per month for spring cleanup.
Waste Management took over the city's residential garbage service on Feb. 15, but neither the company nor the city had decided how to handle the annual spring cleanup.
In fact, many residents told council members during town meetings last month they could live without the program. But the council opted to go ahead with a spring cleanup again this year after Waste Management submitted a bid on the service.
Waste Management estimates its spring cleanup program will cost about $210,222 to operate. That figure includes an estimated rebate of $7,500 on metal sales.
The city's solid waste division spent approximately $242,000 to run the spring cleanup program in 1992, according to Richard Manning, assistant city manager. The city run program cost more because the city subsidized the lower per month charge.
The first phase of Waste Management's program will target "green" waste such as tree trimmings, lumber, leaves and grass. Waste Management will divide the city into six sections and spend a week hauling waste piled at the curbs in each area.
The "green" waste program is tentatively scheduled to begin in April.
The company will haul the waste to a vacant lot the city owns near the sewer treatment plant, where it will grind most of it into mulch for city and residential use.
The second phase of the program will be curbside pickup of bulk waste, such as sheds, washers, water heaters, couches, etc. Waste Management will divide the city into eight sections and spend two weeks collecting waste in each area beginning in May.
The bulk waste program will include a metal recycling program; proceeds, which could be as much as $7,500, will be turned over to Orem.