Scene’s cover story this week, timed with the city’s renewed enforcement, is about the recycling landscape and various efforts by locals and local organizations to be more responsible consumers. Feel free to check it out.
And if you take out the trash and the recycling every week, make sure you remember these three big rules, which will spare you the headache of a $100 fine.
1) Keep your waste INSIDE the carts. Fines will be issued if items are not fully contained in the black waste or blue recycling roll carts. The lid should be fully closed.
2) Don’t set out bulk items unless it’s a bulk pick-up week: Bulk pick-up is the first full week of every month on your regular pickup day. In addition to the black and blue carts, residents may set out up to four tires (without rims) and up to three large items for bulk pick-up, (things like appliances, tables, chairs, mattresses, couches, etc.). Residents must wrap cloth furniture such as mattresses and box springs in plastic. Boxes and bags are not considered bulk items. Fines will be issued if bulk items are set out on non bulk weeks.
3) Don’t set out your carts too early or take them back too late: Fines will be issued if carts are set out earlier than noon the day before regular pick-up. (For example, if your waste pick-up day is Wednesday, do not set your carts out before noon on Tuesday); or if carts are not removed from the tree lawn after noon the day following regular pick-up. (If your waste collection day is on Wednesday, plan to remove carts by noon on Thursday).
Bear in mind that the city permits up to 20 bags of yard waste — grass clippings and leaves, mostly — which may be set out for collection each week separate from the city-issued carts. You won’t be fined for that. Branches and wood must be cut, set out in three-foot bundles and should be no heavier than 40 pounds.
As for recycling, the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District stresses that there are really only five things that residents should be recycling in their homes:
-Cans
-Cartons (juice or milk)
-Glass bottles
-Paper and (non-contaminated) cardboard boxes
-Plastic bottles and jugs.
Almost every other item — Solo Cups, styrofoam containers, plastic utensils, durable plastic (like hangers or toys), and plastic clamshells — cannot be recycled locally and should be thrown in the trash. That’s why the Waste District is encouraging residents to limit their use of single-use plastics.
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2018.
That robot arm on that truck is sweet as heck
the “poorest city in america” hit with more fines, taxes and fees
Excuse the awful pun, but this will create a much-bigger “stink” than the red-light cameras ever did. It’s not about “failure to comply with curbside recycling protocol” or “responsible consumers”…it’s all about turning the waste stream into a revenue stream. A money grab, and nothing more. And then they still wonder why Cleveland’s population continues to shrink?
Ah, yes, the return of the trash inspectors.
“Our motto in the city of Cleveland is keep the city clean” said one such inspector to me as he flicked his cigarette butt onto the street in front of my property.
Best believe he picked up that butt when I was through with him.
This article is more concise & informative than any of the releases that the city has sent to residents. Thanks!
So what about yard waste? If everything needs to fit in a trash bin, can you only put yard waste out on bulk days even if it is bagged?
The city uses the oldest trucks in their fleet in my neighborhood. That fancy arm? I’ve never seen it in my neighborhood. The garbage men manually dump the cans into the truck. How does the city expect that they are going to police every resident along with doing their jobs (kudos to them for even doing that crappy job) without taking more time that they don’t have to complete their job? This is nothing more than a City of Cleveland money grab. I don’t know how mandatory recycling will even stand up in court.
So can you still put your grass and leaves and weeds and yard crap in your old round plastic or metal “trash cans”…or are we now forced to buy plastic bags or kraft bags?
Both are expensive and can only be used once. Trash cans can be emptied and used over and over. They hold more stuff and can be packed down. And the paper and plastic bags clog up the landfills and take years to decompose. Seems to defeat the whole damn purpose of the recycling campaign.
And I see NO mention that cans are now unusable and that only bags are okay. Does anyone from the city read this site? What’s the…POOP? Is this a way to entrap citizens and generate more “revenue” in fines?