Roll-Out Carts Are Quite Still

Published 5:22 pm Thursday, February 28, 2013

FARMVILLE – Not all roll-out carts provided by the Town of Farmville to residents for trash collection are living up to their name.

Many of them are just sitting by the curb.

Not a bit of rolling do they ever see, week to week.

Email newsletter signup

Roll-out cart violations comprised 90 percent of the Town Property Inspector's report in February-33 violations.

Town officials have taken notice and are reminding residents the carts should be rolled out to the curb for trash collection and then rolled back off the curb until the next trash collection.

“I see dozens and dozens of roll-out cart violations. Could we make a note of that in the paper and remind people again?” Town Council member Sally Thompson noted during council's last work session.

“That's three-quarters of (the) report, roll-out cart violations,” she noted.

“Most of it's in Jackson Heights,” observed Town Manager Gerald Spates. “We'll see if we can put an article in the paper to remind people.”

Town Council member Tommy Pairet pointed out that, “I do know that some people they leave it sitting right there and dump their trash, and never move it, because of the fact they have difficulty moving it, as far as older people, and that kind of thing.”

But Spates countered that “we move them for older people, and handicapped…We do pick up elderly people's trash. We've got a list of people that are elderly and handicapped.”

Council member Jamie Davis suggested that, because “a lot of them are repeat offenders,” it would be effective to leave some kind of written notice and reminder either on the roll-out cart or stuck in the resident's front door.

The Town does, Spates, replied, leave hang-tag reminders on front doors.

And, in fact, the report of Property Inspector Kim Sullivan does note “notice left for leaving roll-out carts on curb on non-collection day” on each of the listed violations in her monthly report.

As an added measure, Spates told council members, “I told Kim yesterday to put a reminder in the water bills…I'll make sure we put a note in there.”

Looking across the table at Thompson, Spates told her, “You're right, most of (Sullivan's) report is the trash cans.

“You'd be surprised,” he added, “how many people call and complain about them.”