Huntsville garbage collection behind schedule (moving, estimates, cities)

[MisterEd51]

Garbage collection last week and this week were scheduled to run one day late because of the holidays December 26 and January 2. My normal garbage collection day is Thursday. That means my garbage was supposed to be collected Friday of last week and Friday of this week. In the past Saturday served as a catch up day. That didn't work out for me because it wasn't picked up last week.

I was surprised to see that my garbage was finally picked up this morning January 2. Especially so since today was supposed to be another city holiday. Was garbage collection really that far behind?

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by MisterEd51

Garbage collection last week and this week were scheduled to run one day late because of the holidays December 26 and January 2. My normal garbage collection day is Thursday. That means my garbage was supposed to be collected Friday of last week and Friday of this week. In the past Saturday served as a catch up day. That didn't work out for me because it wasn't picked up last week.

I was surprised to see that my garbage was finally picked up this morning January 2. Especially so since today was supposed to be another city holiday. Was garbage collection really that far behind?

It's hard for them to keep up with all the new people moving in.

Does Huntsville do like some other cities do, i.e., use the garbage trucks street cleaning during winter weather? If they do, that could explain them getting behind.

[MisterEd51]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

It's hard for them to keep up with all the new people moving in.

Does Huntsville do like some other cities do, i.e., use the garbage trucks street cleaning during winter weather? If they do, that could explain them getting behind.

I doubt that would work but even if were possible I doubt they would consider it. Most people in Huntsville are just glad to see their garbage picked up. Putting additional wear on the existing trucks would lead to more breakdowns. When a truck is out of service they sometimes have to use an old garbage truck which requires two workers in addition to the driver. Three workers instead of the usual one has to be more expensive.

Huntsville used to have street sweeping over 30 years ago but that lasted only two years.

Currently in 2023 they are trying to find the funding to start that service again. As you see by the estimates below that is not a cheap proposition. Initially I could see that being $1 million dollars.

Street sweepers - $300,000 each
Dump trucks - $75,000 each
Street sweeper operator - $40,000 per year

Huntsville city councilman working to create street sweeping service
https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/hun...eping-service/