There are more details available about the upcoming changes in the pickup schedule of the City of California Sanitation Department.
As was decided at the regular February meeting of the California Board of Aldermen, residential trash pickup will go to once a week, effective, Monday, March 2, the first working day of the month. For the pickup schedule, the City of California has been divided into four parts based on the natural divisions of the east-west highway (Business Highway 50, also known as Buchanan Street) and the north-south highway Highway 87 / Highway O (also known as Oak Street and Boonville Road).
On Monday, the northeast quadrant, which is the area around the Moniteau County Courthouse, residents will receive trash pickup service.
The Tuesday residential trash pickup will be the southwest quadrant, which is the area including Village Green Shopping Center.
Wednesday remains unchanged. That is the day the department picks up the dumpsters and business trash.
On Thursday, the department will bring residential pickup service to the northwest quadrant of the city, which includes the residences north of Business 50 and west of Highway 87.
The Friday pickup will be the southeast quadrant, which includes Proctor Park.
The decision to change the trash pickup schedule is the result of months of discussion by city officials, supervisors and personnel. The decision came down to making a decision between going to once weekly pickup or making a significant increase in fees for the trash pickup.
The once weekly trash pickup will permit the Sanitation Department to operate at a lower cost, with three employees and reduced operating time for the trucks. The current twice a week pickup requires four employees and daily use of both trucks. The daily truck use, with the stop and go driving necessary for the type of work residential trash pickup, leads to frequent expensive maintenance and repair costs to keep the heavy sanitation trucks in operation.
According to Sanitation Department supervisors, the residents served by the department is just about double of what it was 30 years ago. The increased costs from the much greater volume of trash and the higher expenses for personnel, vehicles and equipment have resulted in the city losing money on trash pickup for the last two years.
Currently, the city transports 238 tons of trash a month, at a cost of $36.50 per ton, to the landfill in Cole County.
There is a set of recycling dumpsters east of the California City Hall. Each ton of recyclable materials put in those dumpsters saves the city about $20 a ton. Glass, plastic, paper, cardboard and metal can be recycled, saving both city funds and the environment.
For more information regarding trash service, or to request extra pickup, such as old furniture or other items, call 573-796-2268 or 573-796-4729.