The City of Dearborn thanks residents for their ongoing cooperation as the implementation of the new household trash and recycling system continues.

The new system uses 96- or 64-gallon carts with large wheels and hinged lids, and a collection truck with a robotic arm that picks up the carts at the curbside.  More than 65,000 carts were delivered to Dearborn households from about mid-May to the start of the new collection system the week of July 5.

  The City and its contractor, Republic Services, are now in the third collection week, and residents are becoming more familiar with the guidelines and the use of the carts, which are designed to reduce blowing litter in neighborhoods, contain odors, prevent pests from getting into trash, and to control the cost of curbside collection in the long run.

Republic Services employees are also becoming more familiar with City streets and neighborhoods. Any remaining transition issues are expected to be smoothed out in the next few weeks.

Trash and Recycling Facts - Trash and Recycling Guidelines - Section Map - Calendar

Personal Service

The new system provides for personal service for qualified residents who have physical limitations and cannot wheel the carts to their curbsides.       Republic Services personnel will take the carts from the side door to the curbside and back.  About 42 residents have qualified so far for this free service. People who think they are in need of this option should call DPW at 943-2085 to begin the qualification process.

Requests for smaller carts

All households initially received the 96-gallon carts for logistics purposes, but the City always intended to provide smaller carts to households that needed them.

About 800 requests for smaller carts have been received by DPW, which is fulfilling the requests in the following prioritized order: elderly people and those with physical limitations or other health restrictions; those with storage limitations on their property; and finally, those who feel it would be more convenient for their households to have the smaller containers.

About 70 percent of the requests from people in the first two categories have been reviewed and about 400 smaller carts requests have been delivered. The review of the requests from people in the third category will begin after the higher priority requests are completed.

Requests for an additional cart

Households that believe they will need a second trash cart on a weekly basis can call 943-2085. A second trash cart may be leased from the City for a one-time cost of $55 beginning in September.  There will be no additional cost for second cart trash pick up.

Recycling schedules

The system was also designed to encourage more recycling, and although hard numbers are not yet available, the City has seen the participation level rise in the first two weeks.

There is still a little confusion about the recycling schedule as residents get used to the new system.  All households are reminded that recycling takes place every other week on their trash collection day.

For recycling purposes, the City is divided into Section A and Section B, and these designations have been listed on every household’s green recycling cart.  A calendar with the recycling schedule is inside the lid of the green recycling cart.

The recycling calendar was also included with the packet of information received with the delivery of the carts.

Residents are reminded to review the calendar to determine their recycling schedule. During the week of July 19-23, section B households should put out their green recycling carts.  During the week of July 26-July 30, section A should put out their green recycling carts. The pattern continues.

Each week, the proper recycling sections are scrolled across the screen for viewers of CDTV, the government cable channel: channel 12 on Comcast and channel 10 on WOW.  The schedule can also be viewed at www.cityofdearborn.org and an alert on the website will list the proper recycling section for the next few weeks.

Yard waste and other guidelines

Other aspects of curbside collection have not changed. A review of the guidelines is below:

• Extra Trash Pick-Up: All trash is to be placed in the 96- or 64-gallon cart provided by the City. If the trash exceeds the capacity of the cart on an occasional basis, residents should put their trash in a bag and then put the bag inside the 32-gallon trash cans they used before the new system started.
• Bulk Waste Pick-Up: Residents are allowed up to 5 bulk items per week and do not need to call in for this to be picked up. Bulk waste is picked up in a separate truck on the regular trash pick up day.
• Yard Waste Pick-Up: Nothing has changed regarding yard waste pickup. It is picked up each week on the regular trash pick up day by a separate truck. Yard waste must be in either a 32-gallon waste can or a paper yard waste compost bag. A yard waste sticker must be applied to the 32-gallon can. The sticker is available at the DPW Office at 2951 Greenfield, the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 13615 Michigan Ave. or the Henry Ford Centennial Library.

Any resident with a question or experiencing any difficulty may call 943-2085 to seek assistance.