Pilot garbage pickup program begins Monday

GAINESVILLE - The City of Gainesville's pilot program for once-a-week backyard garbage pickup goes into effect Monday.

Mayor Ruth Bruner announced the 8-week program a couple of weeks ago.

"It's a big difference," said Mayor Bruner said at the time. "Before we were looking to got once-a-week curbside pickup with the large 96-gallon containers. This a proposal to back up and let's look at a pilot project."

City officials had been under fire since first proposing that service be cut back to one-day-a-week, from two, and that all pickup be curbside, using containers that the city would furnish. And, the criticism has continued in some circles since the mayor announced that the curbside plan was being shelved for now.

"We've heard from so many people that don't want to change, yet we don't have the money to keep going the same way we've been going for all these years. Things have just come to an end of being able to supplement that program to make it work."

After the eight-week program, the Solid Waste Department will look at the results and see what changes need to be made.

Bruner said there will be two public meetings to review the proposals. Those meetings are tentatively set for July 15 and 22.