The City of Bellevue has announced that effective immediately, separate yard waste collection will be delayed until at least May 1, 2020. City residents may continue to use both their blue trash carts and their brown yard waste carts for landfill trash and/or yard waste material, including brown bio bags. Both of these carts will be collected as landfill trash. All material (Trash and Yard Waste) must fit inside the carts. No items will be collected outside the carts.
According to Bellevue Public Works Director Jeff Roberts, more people working, schooling, and eating at home has resulted in an increase in residential trash and recycling volume. “Over the past month, we have seen more residents setting out full trash and recycling carts, and also fully utilizing their brown yard waste cart for trash,” Roberts noted.
Continuing to allow residents to utilize their yard waste cart for trash will help residents dispose of their additional trash without the expense of getting a larger trash cart or an extra cart. “The City recognizes the change will cause some inconvenience as residents want to get outside and begin spring yard work,” Roberts added. “We ask for patience at this time. This is a temporary delay to help ensure that the essential service of trash pick up continues with minimal disruption.”
A spokesman for Papillion Sanitation, the City’s contracted solid waste hauler, explained that in addition to allowing City of Bellevue residents the ability to dispose of excess trash at no extra cost, keeping all trash, recyclables and yard waste inside the carts will help keep drivers in the truck and away from potentially contaminated touch points.
According to Papillion Sanitation, “The safety of our employees, our customers, and the communities we serve is paramount in everything we do. COVID-19 has tremendous unknowns and we are working every day to ensure that the essential service we provide to the City of Bellevue continues with minimal disruptions or delays. Keeping our drivers in the truck and utilizing the automated system to empty carts keeps them away from potentially contaminated carts and household trash. Our goal is to keep our drivers healthy so that operations run as effectively as possible during this unique period.”
For more information please contact Kim Luick with Papillion Sanitation at 402-346-7800.