State May Aid City Move To Automated Collection

With Warwick poised to become the first community in Rhode Island to automate curbside trash and recyclables pickup, the state may give the city a significant grant to turn the local effort into a demonstration project.

Last month, the City Council approved Mayor Scott Avedisian's recommended $525,000 purchase of three trucks equipped to pick up trash and recyclables with only a driver aboard. The new vehicles will be replacing standard trucks on some routes by this summer.

No helper is needed. Instead, the heavy lifting is done by a hydraulic arm while the driver stays in his seat, hands clean, back uninjured.

Because Warwick is making a $525,000 investment in new vehicles, the state Resource Recovery Corporation has agreed to consider paying for the special trash and recycling containers that will be supplied to households on the automated routes.

Avedisian said the value of the grant negotiated by Chris Beneduce, the city's recycling coordinator is likely to surpass six figures.

Because we lead the state in recycling, the Resource Recovery Corporation] has been very good at giving us grant money and special funds to continue to advance better sanitation and recycling practices, Avedisian said. They want to be part of the automation effort and help us with some of the costs associated with it.

The city tested an automated truck in Governor Francis Farms last June. The 100 homeowners who were part of the test were surveyed later and generally gave the program good marks.

Burke Sarno, director of public works, said homeowners typically said they wanted a say on what size containers they would receive, so the program, when in place, will offer three choices.

The demonstration project used large, 95-gallon containers that typically hold five fully-loaded trash bags.

Sarno said the three trucks on order will be delivered this summer and go into service soon afterward. They will replace three of the current trucks, although it hasn't been decided whether they will be used to pick up trash or recyclables.

There are eight trash pick-up routes in the city, serving a total of 27,000 households. No decision had been made as of yesterday on which routes will be automated.

It may take four or five years, Sarno estimated, to replace the current fleet of 16 trash trucks with automated versions.

The new trucks, he said, are more efficient, they hold more materials, and there's less wear and tear on the personnel. We may be able to drop a route, or a route and a half, and need less equipment in the long run.

It's a money-saver, over time, but you've got that initial outlay of capital, he said.

The state is very interested in what we're doing, in part because it may keep even more glass, plastic and paper out of the landfill, Sarno added.

If your blue bin is full of bottles or the green bin is full of paper, you may have a tendency to just throw [the extra recyclables] in the trash. Now you'll have a bigger recycling container and you won't have to throw it in the trash.

Avedisian said none of the 25 city employees currently working on sanitation pickup and recycling will be put out of work by automation.

The workers may spent more time picking up yard waste or appliances, or may transfer into other city departments.