Livonia implements new curbside trash and recycling cart policy
Livonia, Michigan, is entering a new era for trash day. It has officially switched to its new cart system, which rolled out late last year. From now on, residents will be required to use the new 64 or 96-gallon carts for trash and recycling that have been in use since December.
Residents still using their old bin or putting trash bags on the curb without a bin should not expect them to be picked up.
"Most of our residents, they're doing it right. There's still a handful out there that they're still using an orange tub for recycling, for example," said Livonia Public Works director Don Rohraff.
City officials say residents would receive reminders to switch out those orange containers for the proper cart during the next two weeks. After May 27, you could receive a ticket, citation, or fine.
"Ideally, that's not really why we're here. We want everybody to enjoy the carts and just do it the right way and not have to be burdened with being ticketed," Rohraff said.
Rohraff says the more people use the new carts, the smoother that trash day will go.
"It's a lot cleaner, it's uniform, and honestly, everybody is using carts. That's where they're transitioning to, and it saves us a lot of money to move to carts, which is something everyone wanted to do anyway," he said. "You may see the garbage employee just jumping out of the truck and dumping it into there. It may have an arm that dumps it into there. Like I said, there's three, four, five different ways to come and collect."
Residents who have more to throw away than can fit in their cart can place up to five additional items next to the cart, and those will also be picked up.
Anyone with questions about the cart or who needs a replacement can call the Livonia Department of Public Works at 734-466-2655.
