Brand new gray and blue carts are delivered to customers as the County's 2-1-1 automated  garbage collection service is poised to begin at the end of the month.
Brand new gray and blue carts are delivered to customers as the County’s 2-1-1 automated garbage collection service is poised to begin at the end of the month.

After months of speculating, the question about what to do with old trash cans once the new carts take over the block the week of September 20, 2013, have now been answered.

A recent release from the County Public Utilities Department  revealed that there are now three options available for customers who are not able to  find a use for their old trash cans – either by using them for yard waste, or repurposing them as storage containers or for other uses – or if the cans have just lived past their usefulness.

The first option is curbside collection the week of September 23, which simply means that residents can place unwanted garbage cans curbside, with a note directing their service provider to take them.

Option two lets customers to place their old can inside the new GRAY roll garbage cart.

“This option can be be utilized after the automated collection starts the week of September 30,” said County spokesperson Michelle Van Dyke, while emphasized that all items must be inside the new roll cart in order for it to be collected.

The third option is simply to take the old cans to a any of the County Community Collection Centers, two of which include the Alderman Ford, 9402 State Road 39 in Lithia, South County, 13000 US 41 in Gibsonton locations.

If residents can’t find a use for their old recycling bins, these also may be placed inside the GRAY garbage cart or recycled at a Community Collection Center.

A gray cart for garbage and a blue cart for recyclables were delivered to most of the more than 260,000 homes throughout Hillsborough County this month  ahead of the new automated collection service scheduled to start at the end of the month.

2011, the BOCC made a way for opening its 17-year-long garbage hauling contracts to open bids with a 7-0 vote, claiming that the process will allow the best rates for county residents and taxpayers.

The  process granted new solid waste franchise collection agreements to Republic Services of Florida, Waste Management Inc. of Florida, and Waste Services of Florida, and selected a new 2-1-1 “automated” service option as the way residential garbage and recyclables are collected.

“Altogether, the County will save nearly $10 million annually by the County Commission’s decision to reshape the collection program,” Van Dyke said, adding that the 2-1-1 automated service option is projected to save the County more than $7.5 million annually, or  $52,790,108 over the 7-year contract. “This is a 22 percent reduction over the current contracts.”

For more information about the new collection program, and a detailed explanation of the new format, residents are encouraged to visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org/talktrash or call 813-272-5680.

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