Mr. Marchand explains…
You may have noticed that litter barrels are being removed from neighborhood business districts. Their removal is part of a spring “cleaning and consolidation” effort currently underway. Barrels are being taken to the Public Works department where they are power washed prior to being replaced. Broken receptacles will be discarded. Removing clusters of barrels all at once makes their cleaning and servicing more efficient. The goal is to reduce the overall number of litter barrels and to re-deploy them strategically to provide adequate coverage and to minimize staff time spent on servicing them. Over the years the number of barrels has grown to approximately 300. Some are underutilized and some are broken. A few have been used for the disposal of household and commercial trash. Based on DPW assessments of usage in various districts, we will identify best locations for replacement. We expect the total number to be reduced significantly and service times to be improved. We will also monitor them more closely as some have been being used for disposal of commercial and household trash. Interestingly, we have had a few businesses who have offered to maintain a barrel near their shop. While we got a jump on executing this program as soon as spring arrived, Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this effort.
Henri B. Marchand Assistant to the City Manager