Norris ends recycling, changes trash pickup
Although recylcling pickup is no longer offered by the city of Norris as of Tuesday, July 1, most residents seemed to have their full recycling bins ready at the curb. But those bins were being ignored by the city’s solid-waste contractor. Trash bins were emptied, but not the recycling containers. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Under the new procedures, Tuesday remains the trash-service day for the entire city, but residents will no long be able to set out recycling bins for pickup, and the back-door pickup of trash will no longer be offered except to a few residents who qualify as disabled.
Most residents, however, apparently did not know about the recycling change, as they still put their bins out for pickup — which did not happen.
“We knew today would be nasty,” City Manager Adam Ledford said late Tuesday morning.
“We expect to hear from a lot of people. We don’t offer recycling anymore. I expected 20 to 30%. What we’re hearing is 70 to 80% with their recycling out.”
With the elimination of recycling service, though, residents will see their monthly trash-collection bill drop to $15 from the previous $16.
Now, on garbage day, residents must place their garbage carts within five feet of the curb for pickup no later than 7 a.m.
“If necessary, placing your cart out the night before is permitted, so long as you assure the cart is secure and will not tip over,” Ledford said on the city’s website. “Placement should allow five feet of clearance (away from cars, power poles, structures and other garbage carts) on all sides of the cart ...”
For now, residents may continue using their own trash bins.
But “During the last week of July, Waste Connections expects to begin the delivery of [its] new, standardized solid waste containers for residential customers,” Ledford said.
“We expect residents to begin fully utilizing their new containers no later than the [Aug. 11] pickup (subject to change).”
After that, Waste Connections will only pick up trash in the new bins it has provided to residents, Ledford said.
As for backdoor trash pickup, “In certain circumstances, individuals with mobility issues that prevent them from bringing their solid waste container to the curb may receive a waiver from the curbside requirement,” Ledford’s notice said.
“To be approved, individuals must complete a form (available on the city’s website) and meet the following criteria: 1) there is no person in the household who is physically capable of transporting the container to the curb; 2) there is no neighbor or relative NOT living in the household who is able or willing to assist the resident in transporting the container to the curb; and 3) a certification is provided by the resident’s physician which certifies that the resident has a mobility impairment [that] prevents the transportation of a container to the curb.”
As for recycling, Ledford said: “This change was a result of increased costs of tipping fees at WestRock, the primary recycling collection station in the region.
“[Although] curbside recycling is too cost-prohibitive to continue, the city encourages all residents to continue recycling by taking advantage of the Anderson County recycling center … at 3065 Norris Freeway.
“Residents who currently possess a Waste Connections-branded recycling tub are free to repurpose it for other uses, or [they may] leave it by [their] trash [bins] for disposal.”
If the city had chosen to retain recycling pickups in the new contract, the service would have been reduced to every other week, and the monthly pickup bill for each resident would have been $24, Ledford said.
