Jonesboro Sanitation adds third manual truck for curbside assistance

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) — Jonesboro Sanitation has added a third manual garbage truck as more residents request help getting their trash to the curb.

The city has used two manual trucks for years. Some residents cannot roll their cans to the curb because they are older, recovering from surgery, or living with a disability.

The city says manual pickups cost about the same as using automated trucks. There is no extra cost for residents who qualify.

Route Supervisor Ronny Stanback said as more people qualify for the help, more crews are needed on the ground.

“They have to go up behind the house and get it out from behind the house, bring it back down the street, dump the trash container, and then take it back up and replace it where they got it from,” Stanback said.

Stanback said the manual trucks will continue to be used.

“These are necessary. We got to have them. I think our rear-door part and our handicap part is increasing. You know, people getting older, more … people are unable to get their cans to the curb,” Stanback said.

Crews also use manual trucks in dead ends and cul-de-sacs where automated arms cannot safely turn around.

Yard waste is picked up manually across the city twice a month. Residents who do not want to wait can take yard waste themselves to 2650 Lacy Drive.

Stanback said there have not been any recent crashes involving workers on foot. He said crews rely on drivers to pay attention when workers are in the street.

“Well, be cautious. You know, you never know when someone might step out behind it or whatever. So you need to be cautious, try to go around it, be cautious passing it. That’s one of the things we’d like drivers to do: look out for our people that we got on the ground,” Stanback said.

Nearly 400 people currently qualify for the service. To request curbside assistance, residents need a doctor’s note faxed directly to Jonesboro Sanitation.

Residents with questions about eligibility can call the office at 870-932-7520.

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