The green bag program in Truckee, which was instituted in June 2009, has been more successful than anyone ever anticipated. Over 50 percent of Truckee residents have participated in the program generating 357,000 green bags. Since the pick-up program limits residents to four bags per week, the result is bags piling up in yards, creating blight as well as a fire hazard.
The proposed change is to eliminate the green bags in favor of 96-gallon rolling carts. Several reasons have been put forward for the change:
• Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal is experiencing rising costs of handling more and more bags.
• Carts would be less expensive overall than the bags currently in use. Currently, green bags cost residents up to $60 per year, while a cart has a one-time fee of $35 and a warranty of ten years.
• Carts would facilitate heavier material collection, would eliminate the need for manual pick-up of bags, and would be picked up every other week.
• The cart program would reduce the number of plastic bags introduced into the environment.
If the proposal is approved by the Town Council, green bag pick-up will be terminated beginning in January 2016. Residents will not be required to participate in the cart program, and may continue to use the free drop-off of yard waste at the Eastern Regional Landfill. Kelli Hare of Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal reminds residents that in this area maintaining defensible space is very important, and is one of the goals of the green waste program. Articles on this subject appear in both the Sierra Sun and Moonshine Ink. Click on one or both of their links for more details.
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