Memphis must make a tough trash choice
“We have to think about the future ... to promote a clean city that makes sense”
The city of Memphis must curb its collection of out-of-cart debris or charge higher fees to prevent its Solid Waste Fund from running dry in 2020, Public Works Director Robert Knecht said Tuesday.
The city’s $22.80 solid waste fee per utility bill falls about $7 short of the city’s costs to collect and dispose of bagged leaves, tree limbs and other curbside debris, Knecht told City Council members Tuesday. He proposed four possible citywide solutions: eliminate curbside collections entirely to keep fees the same, his favored option; collect debris weekly for $10 more in fees, a model similar to Germantown’s; collect monthly for $5.25 more; or collect quarterly for $2.25 more.
If the city ends does away with curbside collections, residents could lease up to four additional carts for $5 per month per cart and drop off additional debris at designated locations for an additional fee, Knecht said.
But Wednesday, residents worried changing longstanding collection policies could mean trash on the curb won’t be picked up, and will eventually end up in windblown and waterlogged bits strewn on sidewalks, yards and streets.
“We have a real issue with blight in this city, and this will contribute to it,” said Kristen Schebler, executive director of the Cooper-Young Community Association.
In addition to blight, Noah Guess, a resident of the Sea Isle neighborhood, worries fewer collections or requiring debris to be placed in carts will mean more unraked leaves and limb-strewn yards and unkempt lawns.
“My garbage is full every week,” he said. “My recycling is full every week. I have trash curbside al-
most every weekend. If we want people keeping up with their properties, you want to see lawn debris.”
Knecht said the city would need to ramp up code enforcement to make the solutions work. Putting debris at the curb other than on set collection days would result in hefty code enforcement penalties of $100 per hour in addition to $175 per load, enforced by special officers appointed by Knecht.
Doing nothing isn’t an option, Knecht said — not with funds drying up and new regulations restricting the amount of trash going to landfills.
“We have to think about the future in some way, some form, to promote a clean city that makes sense,” he said.
Knecht shared the results of a survey showing only 20 percent of 1,200 respondents use curbside service weekly. Former Evergreen Historic District Association President Wain Rubenstein questioned the fairness of raising rates when most people, himself included, use curbside less often. But he’s also concerned about the effect on blight.
“I wouldn’t be happy with whatever they chose,” Rubenstein said. “But what am I going to do about it?”
Council member Martavius Jones said he thinks most people would choose a rate increase to keep the quality of their service, even though only 31 percent of survey respondents said they would pay for better service.
“If they have to pay more (for quality service), I think they’re willing to do that,” Jones said.
Schebler said she hoped the administration would come to the neighborhoods to share the options before making a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for neighborhood cleanliness.
“The most appealing option to some people — to not have rate hikes — would ultimately be the option people would be most upset by,” she said.
Knecht said he would continue discussing the options with council members and Mayor Jim Strickland in upcoming months.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.