Size of new Rockford garbage cans concerns residents - WIFR

Size of new Rockford garbage cans concerns residents

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - The Forest City takes a literal approach to talking trash as new, larger garbage cans make their way to city residents.

One street at a time, Rockford residents receive both a 96-gallon garbage can and a 65-gallon recycling bin as part of the city’s effort to reduce the cost of garbage collection. Before making the switch, the city researched other areas that updated their trash bins, finding the size increase contributed to a 23% percent rise in the efficiency of garbage collection. Rockford’s Brownsfield Redevelopment director Robert Wilhelmi says before the switch, an average garbage truck could only get to 700 homes a day. Now they’re reaching 900.

“It increases the efficiency of collection and reduces the amount of worker injuries,” Wilhelmi says. “It also reduces the number of workers the garbage collection staff need on a route to do the same amount of collection.”

Despite all the benefits of the larger cans, some residents worry their size may be too much to handle, especially for those with physical limitations. RAMP systems change coordinator Eric Brown expects the non-profit to receive many calls from the disabled community regarding the ease and accessibility of maneuvering the larger cans. He says he looks forward to working with the city to find a solution that works for everyone.

“Advocate for yourself. Understand that if you are running into an issue related to your disability there are probably other people in the city who are running into that same issue,” Brown says. “Please reach out to the city. Encourage them to come up with a reasonable accommodation process.”

Wilhelmi suggests residents reach out to care-giving services or community service groups for a lending hand. He says the size of the cans will be worth it in the long run.

“We sympathize with those who do have challenges moving any sort of garbage cart and we’d also like to let them know that there are resources available to them to help them with garbage collection if needed,” Wilhelmi says.

After rolling out their updated bins, the city of Freeport turned towards a physically disabled refuse service to help disabled residents bring their trash to the curb. Brown thinks that would be a great potential solution Rockford should consider.

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