This is a copy of the door hanger that will be left at homes where bulk trash has been placed curbside for pickup by town crews. The town is now charging a pickup fee depending on the size of the load. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
As of Oct. 1, the town began charging for curbside bulk trash pickup. The fees are $25, $50 and $1o0 depending on the size of the load. Instead of paying the fee, residents may take bulk items to the town container site on Talton Avenue. There is no charge. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
As of Monday, Oct. 2, residents and/or homeowners who place bulk trash items, such as household furnishings, TVs/computers or other electronic items, for curbside pickup by the town will have to pay a fee for the service based on the size of the load.
White goods (home appliances such as ovens and refrigerators) are exempt from the fees since the town can sell them to be recycled.
The town does not pick up building/construction materials; tires, dirt; rocks; cement; bricks; batteries; paint or hazardous materials.
The fees are $25 for small loads, $50 for medium loads and $100 for large loads.
Instead of paying the fee, residents may take bulk items to the town container site on Talton Avenue at no charge.
Town officials have said one goal of the fee is to encourage residents to use the Talton Avenue site and thereby reduce unsightly trash piles in the town.
The site is currently open Monday, Wednesday and Friday and on Saturday morning. To better accommodate residents, the town plans to rework the schedule so that the site is open all day on Saturday.
The fee is not a money-making move, Town Manager Jammie Royall said, but rather a way for the town to help offset higher tipping fees at the Wayne County Landfill.
Royall said the county doubled the fees it charges after the town adopted its budget leaving the town to search for funding to cover the higher cost.
However, the town board has been discussing the fees since early summer at ordinance review sessions — which are open to the public — but not during any regular board meetings.
Public Utilities Director Mitchell Davis said that a similar fee was being charged when he first began working for the town many years ago, but somehow had been discontinued.
Like Royall, Davis said the fee is not an attempt to make money off of residents.
He noted that even to pick up just a lamp and mattress required him to send a truck and at least one employee to pick up the items.
The items have to be loaded, and then transported to the landfill — all of which takes time and costs the town, he said.
The fees will help cover some of that cost, he said.
But while this fee collection is new, the ordinance governing bulk curbside collection, including fees, has been on the books for years — just never enforced.
The ordinance reads:
“Any property owner desiring special bulk collections of loose matter, not in closed containers or tied in bundles, may request a special collection for which a special charge may be made. If sufficient manpower and equipment are available, town personnel are authorized to make the special collections, provided the person making the request agrees to pay for the labor and equipment used at the rate specified by the public works director.
“Rubbish such as worn-out furniture, refrigerators, stoves, and the like, will be picked up by the town only by specific request made to the public works department, at which time these items shall be placed behind the curb for collection.”
Previously, town crews would pick up a bulk pile without having to be notified or charging a fee.
However, residents now must call 919-658-9517 to to request a pick up and fee assessment.
When town crews find a bulk pile where a pickup has not been requested, an orange door hanger will be left at the residence explaining the process.
It notes that the pickup will be at the town’s discretion and that the charge will be added to the resident’s water bill.
The charge will be invoiced to be paid within 60 days.
For residents who fail to pay, the charge could be held back from their water service deposit refund. Another option would be for the town to contact the state which then could hold back the amount from a person’s state tax refund.
Residents who pile a bulk load for curbside collection and then fail to take it to the town’s recycling center or to make arrangements to have it collected within seven days of receiving the notification face fines and penalties that can total hundreds of dollars.
The time period between when the notice is served and when a resident is fined was a sticking point for the board. Finally settling on seven days at the board’s July 18 ordinance review session.
