Waste pickup changes in northwest Orlando

Once-a-week pickup for garbage and recyclables has come to northwest Orlando, and so far, the city has received only a handful of complaints from residents in College Park, Parramore and other area neighborhoods.

Orlando last week launched a citywide test of a new solid waste schedule, which will be rolled out in phases over the next several months.

Currently, the city picks up most residents’ trash twice a week and recyclables just once every other week.

During a smaller test that began last year, some residents in Baldwin Park and other communities complained of bad smells and overflowing bins.

However, solid waste officials say they’re working to help residents adjust to the change — with good results.

“It’s really going quite well,” said Mike Carroll, the city’s solid waste manager. “We have a little

bit of an effort still to work on, communicating with our customers. Some of the folks put things out on the wrong day … and that takes a little bit of time.”

Because weekly collection means fewer trips per month for Orlando’s garbage trucks, and because it’s cheaper to dispose of recyclables than trash, officials say the new schedule should save the city money, though it’s too soon to say how much.

Once-weekly pickup is already the norm in Orange, Lake and Osceola counties.

The first phase of the citywide test, which began May 1, brought the new schedule to more than a dozen neighborhoods, including College Park, Rosemont, Rock Lake, Spring Lake, Parramore, Haralson Estates, Callahan, Lake Dot and Lorna Doone.

Although records show that the city has not received many complaints from those neighborhoods so far, not everyone is happy.

John Weyrick, of Harwood Avenue in Haralson Estates, said his neighborhood already struggles with piled-up trash along the roadside. Having fewer trash collection days, he said, seems likely to make things worse.

“My neighborhood is one where people will stop their pickup trucks, kick something off the back and move on,” he said. “The harder you make it [to dispose of trash properly], the less people will care. A lot of people don’t care.”

Judy Love, of Hayden Lane in College Park, wrote in an email to the city’s Solid Waste Division that she was “nauseated” by the idea that trash, including pet waste, could be left baking in plastic bins for up to seven days in the summer heat.

“I would much rather keep the service as is,” she wrote. “I don’t see overflowing receptacles for recycling, but I do see overflowing garbage receptacles on each pickup day.”

Carroll said his staff has found residents can effectively combat smells by making sure their bins are in good repair and their bags are tied tightly, and also through the use of common deodorant products, like Febreze. Hosing out bins periodically also helps.

“It does take a little more diligence in the summer,” he said.

Mary Travis, vice president of the College Park Neighborhood Association, said she had encountered scattered concerns among neighbors and online but few real issues, other than people who forgot their pickup days had changed.

“Everybody seems to be rolling with it,” she said.

Carroll acknowledged that making sure residents know about the change has been a challenge. He said his staff personally delivered thousands of letters and hosted three public meetings before the first phase — but only a total of 10 people attended.

Trash collectors have also been leaving fliers on cans left out on the wrong day to help residents learn the new schedule.

“We’ve been really aggressive about making sure they understand,” said District 3 Commissioner Robert Stuart, who represents some neighborhoods in the first phase, including College Park.

Officials say they’re also doing their best to help residents adjust to fewer trash pickups. Those who recycle can request a second garbage can for free, something about 50 households of the roughly 6,000 included in the first phase have done already, according to the city.

Carroll said he hopes the new schedule will encourage residents to recycle.

Some collection routes during the initial test saw a 20 percent increase in households with recycling bins.

“That’s where our big hope is, as we move across the city,” he said.