Marshfield's Transition to New Garbage System Running Smoothly
Tuesday, June 19th, 2018 -- 9:15 AM
(WDLB) -Marshfield's transition to an automated cart system for garbage and recycling pickup is off to a fairly smooth start.That's what Dale Marth of Advanced Disposal told members of Marshfield's Board of Public Works last night. Advanced began using the new two-wheeled cart system in late April. And despite a few glitches with residents not setting their carts out correctly, Marth said - quote - "I think things have gone well."
"I know change is never easy. If you recall, it's probably been just a few short months that I was here that I said I can't promise you it's going to be perfect, but I think it'll go pretty well. And overall, I think things have gone well. Anytime you make a change such as that and the sheer volume of the number of homes affected. But i think it's gone pretty well."
Marth said the one problem Advanced is running into is residents not setting their carts out properly. He said carts need to be three feet away from any other object, such as power poles, mailboxes, vehicles, and the other cart. Marth also said Advanced on Monday put into service a new truck that's equipped to handle both garbage and recycling materials. Until now, they were sending two trucks around the city for collection, until a new dual-purpose truck was ready.
"One of the changes that we faced internally was the fact that it typically takes about 18 months or more to manufacture a truck and have it ready with all the specialized equipment. And our first permanent truck was placed into service, our new truck, and the second is soon to arrive. That's made things easier for us. I just want to mention that because one thing you may notice or residents may notice is that currently we were using two trucks to make that happen and now it'll be one truck that picks up both materials. I just want people to understand that that truck is capable of picking up both materials in separate compartments. In fact, it's similar to the way we used to do it before."
Public-Works Director Dan Knoeck told the Board the city is pleased with how the change-over has gone to this point, and there have not been any major issues with residents or Advanced Disposal and their employees.
"We've been pleased with the field staff that Advanced has out there following up on issues. And, as Dale mentioned, there's somethings that always come up in situations like this and they've been quick to respond to those things. The only challenge we've seen is sometimes when people call the 1-800 number in the phone book, they're getting a Milwaukee dispatch operator and so they're not always familiar with the Marshfield situation, so I would encourage people to use the number that is on the brochure that they received. They'll have a better chance getting a local person that will know the Marshfield situation. Once we get the right people addressing the issue, we've had good response from Advanced in dealing with the community situations."
Anyone with questions can contact Advanced Disposal at 715-502-3565. Marth also reminded residents to have their carts curbside by 6 a-m on the day of their scheduled pickup. And he said residents have to remember that recycling pickup has now switched to every-other week. Garbage and recycling pickup is occurring on the north side on Mondays, on the west side on Tuesdays, on the east side on Wednesdays and on Thursdays on the south side. There is no longer Friday pickup in the city.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.