The Jefferson city council at its Sept. 22 okayed a replacement for the semi-annual clean-up week residents have relied on as a way to rid themselves of excess trash. The clean-up weeks were discontinued when the city switched to automated trash collection.
In place of being able to put items curbside two weeks a year, the city will offer a year-round service. The city will provide dumpsters for residents to utilize free of charge for a period of up to one week. Residents will be allowed to dispose of four yards of garbage/junk at no charge. That’s one yard more than was allowed at spring or fall clean-up. Any additional dumps of the dumpster will be billed at the standard collection rate. The dumpsters will range in size for 1-1/2-yards to four yards.
Appliances and other electronics cannot be placed in the dumpsters but can be placed curbside year-round on the resident’s regular trash collection day. Normal collection fees will apply to those items. Metals can be set out all year and will be collected at no charge.
According to a city press release, the city is making the change to minimize the risk of injury and potential exposure to hazardous materials by the public and city employees, while at the the same time offering a service that provides a year-round opportunity to dispose of garbage/junk.
Residents who want to request a free dumpster can telephone city hall at 515-386-3111. Their name and address will be placed on a list to have a dumpster delivered to them. As dumpsters become available, they’ll be delivered to residents in the order in which they were requested. If a resident doesn’t need a dumpster for a full week, he or she can let city hall staff know and the dumpster will be delivered to the next residence on the list. Dumpsters will not be left at a residence longer than one week.
City staff reminds residents that with the switch to automated curbside collection of garbage, residents can put out up to 95 gallons of trash weekly, compared to 70 gallons prior to the automated system. “If there are extra items to be disposed of weekly, we urge residents to fill their trash containers full each week instead of saving it. Four dumps of the 95-gallon containers are approximately equivalent to filling a 2-yard dumpster,” a spokesperson said.
