Monday, members of the New Castle City Council reached a consensus about how to address violations of the city’s trash ordinance. Educating the public about what the existing ordinance allows and prohibits will be followed by stepped-up enforcement including fines and court appearances.
New Castle City Council members have spent the past four months trying to figure out the best way to get local residents to comply with the existing ordinance. Of particular concern are people who set their trash out days in advance of their scheduled pick-up and those who set out large items like mattresses, appliances and unwanted furniture.
Council member Jerry Walden voiced his support for the existing ordinance and said the key to compliance is to educate city residents about what it says.
Council member Lynn Perdue agreed, stating their was no need to reinvent the wheel.
Council president Mark Koger again stated his support for the existing ordinance and enforcing it. As for “big” trash, he suggested dividing the city into quarters and picking up a limited number of large items per household once per month in each of those four areas based on when any given resident’s weekly trash collection takes place.
“This is as simple as it can get,” Koger said. “If your trash is picked up on Monday your (big trash) gets picked up the first Friday of the month. If your trash gets picked up on Tuesday (your big trash) gets picked up on the second Friday of the month. If your pick-up is Wednesday it’s the third Friday of the month. If your pick up is on Thursday it’s the fourth Friday of the month.”
Koger said that like the trash toters provided by the city, big trash should be set out the evening before or morning of the resident’s Friday for big trash collection.
Discussion on the matter continued for nearly 40 minutes before the council agreed to leave the existing ordinance alone, to make a concerted effort to educate New Castle residents about the do’s and don’ts of setting trash at curbside and to increase enforcement efforts as of June 1.
“We’ve decided that we like the ordinance. We’ve decided that we want enforcement of the ordinance as it is. We’ve agreed that there’s going to be a Friday pick-up for each section of town for large items as stated in the ordinance, and that if we have people putting their trash out early (we’ll) deal with them,” council member Rex Peckinpaugh summarized.
A letter detailing the trash ordinance is expected to be included with June’s water bill. Facebook will be utilized to help inform the public about what is expected of them. The idea of adding signage to the sides of the city’s trash trucks to help educate the public also was discussed.
As of June 1, violators will be warned and told what they did wrong. Repeat violators will be fined a minimum of $25 per incident.
All council members agreed that as of June 1, the city will no longer pick up electronic devices, batteries, paint (with the exception of latex paint, and then only if partially empty cans have been filled with kitty litter or a similar absorbent material), building materials or tires.
Many of those types of items may be disposed of during the annual Tox-Away Day sponsored by the Henry County Solid Waste Management District or by dropping them off at the HCSWMD office,1121 Broad St., New Castle. Call the SWMD office at 765-529-1691 for details regarding their collection and disposal options and programs.
To view the entire trash ordinance, visit the city’s website at www.cityofnewcastle.net, go to the “Government” tab, then choose “City Council” and then “City Code Online (codified ordinances).”
Trash ordinance tips
Following are some suggestions for remaining compliant with the city's trash ordinance. This does not list all of the ordinance requirements, only suggestions for addressing some of the most frequest violations.
• All trash must be placed in the provided toter with lid shut.
• Scattered trash on your property is your responsibility.
• Syringes, needles, glass items, razor blades, scalpels and other sharp objects must be in a sealed container that said objects cannot penetrate.
• Loose leaves may be placed at curbside from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 only; otherwise, they must be bagged and in toter.
• Tires, batteries and materials that create an environmental hazard can only disposed of at Tox-Away Day or at owner’s expense.
• Heavy trash will be picked up no more often than monthly from owner’s residence depending on the day of the week their trash is usually collected. Call the Street Department if unsure of heavy trash collection schedule.
• Trash toters at collection site for more than 24 hours are considered abandoned and will be collected by the city. Toters can be set out the evening prior to collection and must be removed within 12 hours of collection.
• Trucks transporting trash must have entire truck bed covered by tarp to prevent trash from blowing out.
• Donations to charity depositories must be inside the container.
• Violators will be fined $25 for each citation.
