Rehoboth officials talk trash
Trash left on city streets, sometimes days before scheduled pickups, has rankled Rehoboth Beach officials.
“I’m tired of looking at it,” Commissioner Stan Mills said. “I think it’s a burden placed on our full-timers and our visitors to have to look at this crap all the time.”
A handout prepared by commissioners Mills and Kathy McGuiness showed piles of garbage bags left at the curbside, which are easy pickings for birds and rodents.
In addition, Mills said, trash and recycling cans are left out after pickup day for days or even a week at a time. City code mandates cans be picked up eight hours after pickup, which may not always be feasible for some, Mills said. There is nothing in the code saying how early trash can be out on the curb, he said. Whatever times are established, Mills said, they must be enforced because cans out too long blow out into the street.
“Right now, people are putting it out one, two weeks ahead of time," he said. "We need to set those timelines.”
For people who can’t meet the timeline, the city could also provide a service where the trash vendor would walk up to the house to collect the cans, Mills said. It would be a premium service and would cost more than regular city trash service, he said. The service would have to be through one vendor on one day, Mills said, so trash trucks won't clog city streets.
The commissioners have not yet decided whether to have the city perform this service or hire a private contractor. City Manager Sharon Lynn said the public works department says it could not provide the service for the whole city at current staffing levels.
Lynn said a Friday pilot program for renters could be feasible. Mills said those who want the service would pay for the system. Mills said the problem is not the frequency of pickups but when trash, especially trash in bags, can be left out on the curb.
Some rental homeowners will call the city if their tenants miss trash pickup, but Mills said the city should not be doing that on a frequent basis.
Mills said he was hoping to have new regulations for trash pickups in place to start by Oct. 1 so the city could have time to put everything in place.
Mayor Sam Cooper said this was an issue where the city must communicate to everyone what exactly the policy is. Cooper said putting timelines on when people can have their trash out was a bit heavy-handed but he agreed the city should establish a valet service. He said a separate service would at least provide an option for people who need to put their trash out ahead of when the city picks it up. Cooper said he would also like to see the trash and recycling pickups done on the same day.
Mills, Cooper and McGuiness plan to meet with Lynn to further develop changes to the time trash can be out and walkup service.
