Claw truck only option for brush collection in Asheville during pandemic

Press release from the city of Asheville:

Asheville Sanitation continues to review ways to protect City workers from potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus and to ensure continuity of regular curbside trash collection for the duration of the pandemic.

Here’s where service stands the week of April 6:

  • Curbside trash and recycling collection continue as scheduled.  All trash in green carts must be bagged.  All recycling in blue carts should remain loose and un-bagged.
  • Brush collection will continue to be postponed.  Sanitation will continue to provide limited collection of large piles with a claw truck in an effort to minimize obstructions.
  • Bulky collection will be limited. Bulky trash collection will be limited to only large items that can be collected with the claw truck.

Sanitation is unable to collect extra bags or boxes of loose trash material.  Households that are regularly generating more trash than can fit in one cart are asked to request an extra trash cart by calling 828-251-1122.

Bulky items must be placed in an area accessible to the claw truck. Additionally, please avoid blocking  sidewalks with refuse. Please ensure that any containers, bags, or piles of brush are not obstructing sidewalks or traffic.

We have deployed the claw trucks to get to some of the brush and bulky waste as we can. Regular brush and bulky waste collection operations require a two- to three-person crew to be in close quarters in the cab of a truck throughout the day, creating the potential for virus transmission. We are working to protect those staff from potential exposure. Also a three-person crew in a cab is not permissible under Buncombe County’s Stay Safe, Stay Home order.

All City of Asheville employees deserve a safe environment on the job. We have taken this measure to help slow the spread of COVID-19 so as to preserve their health and safety.

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