Over the course of 2017, the city will continue to remove residential trash dumpsters from alleys and replace them with trash carts.
The carts look exactly like purple recycling containers, except they are black. This change only impacts customers who live in dwellings of seven units or less. Residents of apartment buildings will continue to have commercial dumpsters.
About 140,000 households across Denver are already using trash carts and approximately 35,000 more will get them sometime between August and November. Residents of some neighborhoods, including Washington Park, already have the carts. Some of the neighborhoods that still have dumpsters include Capitol Hill, Five Points, Cheesman Park, Congress Park, Country Club and Cherry Creek.
This transition has been a long time coming and is being implemented for a variety of reasons, including reduced cost. The city currently operates three types of trash collection services that require specialized vehicles for each one. Moving all residents to cart-based trash collection will allow for standardization of trucks and containers.
Nancy Kuhn, Communications Director for Denver Public Works, said via email, “There are a number of ways the city will save money. We are not just transitioning dumpster customers, but also manual trash customers (who use trash cans). It is a common misperception that dumpsters are efficient. We will save by reduced per household waste, spend less money on landfill fees and save on transportation because less trash is collected.”
One of the drivers for this change was the amount of illegal dumping taking place in the city. According to Kuhn, the average household serviced by a trash cart produces 1.09 tons of waste per year and the average household serviced by a dumpster produces 1.53 tons of waste.
Kuhn said, “We know much of this difference didn’t necessarily come from each household, but can be attributed to dumping and misuse of the dumpsters. Dumpsters are easy to throw stuff in.”
Tom Conis, President of Congress Park Neighbors Inc., said via email, “We have been contacted by residents with concerns about the elderly trying to navigate the new carts down many stairs to the curb.”
Kuhn acknowledges this is a common concern. She responded by saying, “The carts are well designed and many find their fear of moving them does not actually become a reality. For those who do have a legitimate concern, primarily elderly and disabled, we work one on one with them to find a solution through special set out locations and assistance, when needed. Although not something we rely on, we are finding Denver residents are very neighborly and in many cases neighbors know who might have trouble and support each other with assistance.”
Residents of the west side of the 700 block of Gilpin Street and the east side of the 700 block of Franklin Street were some of the first in Denver to have their dumpsters removed. One neighbor wanted to build a garage and desired additional space in the alley. Despite objections from some other people on the block, the city granted his request three years ago to remove the dumpsters, saying the change would be implemented throughout Denver anyway.
The dumpsters in this alley, which is close to Cheesman Park, were replaced with 32- gallon trash cans with lids, which are smaller and less contained than the trash carts. Residents on this block will also be getting trash carts later this year.
Jay O’Neall has lived on the 700 block of Gilpin Street since 2005. He misses the dumpsters, but feels the carts will be an improvement over the trash cans.
O’Neall said, “Our alley is usually a disaster. On windy days, there are trash cans rolling up and down it. Squirrels can eat through the trash cans and often make a mess. The alley feels less clean and much more cluttered. One thing about dumpsters is they contain the trash.”
Since their alley dumpsters were removed, the O’Neall family of four does produce less trash and typically accumulates only one large bag of actual trash per week. They are avid recyclers and also use the city’s compost service, which costs $120 per year. While O’Neall is not happy about having to pay for composting, he felt there was no choice.
The city begins notifying impacted residents by mail several months before their dumpsters are removed. Staff also attend RNO meetings prior to the transition. Information packets are delivered with the trash carts and follow-up information will be mailed after they are dropped off.
For more information or questions, please visit denvergov.org/trash or call 311.
