Lafayette Times

Automated Trash Coming Soon for Residents in the City of Frankfort

The City of Frankfort will be rolling out a new trash service - automation, on Tuesday,

November 1, 2022. Each resident will receive (1) new 96 gallon toter (trash cart), during the last week of

October in preparation for the new service. Carts will be for TRASH ONLY and will be picked up on your

normal trash day. For example, if a resident’s trash is usually picked up on Thursday, it will continue to

be picked up on Thursday.

“The biggest reason we decided to change the way the Frankfort Street

Department sanitation crews ran trash is because of safety reasons. They

are picking up tons of trash daily and they have no idea what is in the

bags. We have had employees get severely cut when a bag brushes their

legs, arms, or hands. We have had numerous workman comp claims due

to injuries while being on the back of the truck. We have had close calls

where distractive drivers almost hit some of our employees on the back

of the truck. Our sanitation crews are out in any type of weather, it can

be 90 degrees or 10 below zero and they are still out collecting trash

daily. When Shane Langemeier and Jason Forsythe, Street Superintendent, brought the Board of Public

Works and I a video of what our employees are picking up and how many tons of trash they are picking

up, I knew we had to make a change,” said Mayor Judy Sheets.

Residents will be assigned a cart with a serial number on them that will correspond with their home

address on their utility bill. All trash MUST be in the new carts. Any trash that is against or outside of the

cart will not be picked up. The new sanitation trucks will have an arm that picks up each cart and will

dump it in truck. The arm will place the cart back on the ground and continue down the alley or street to

the next cart. Carts should not be placed under trees, or portable basketball hoops and should be at

least (3) feet from any obstruction including utility poles, low-hanging power lines, or parked cars. All

residents will need to place new carts with lid arrow pointing to the street or alley.

Jason Forsythe commented, “We run trash in the rain, snow, sleet, and hot humid days, with this

program we will be able to run everything from inside the trucks. It will help keep our employees safe

while keeping our city streets clean. All of the trash will be contained in the carts and will keep rodents,

wildlife, or any other animal out of the trash. We are currently using (7) employees to run trash every

day. Once this program is in place, we will only need (3) employees to run trash. The other (4)

employees will be able to help our department with other areas like patching roadways, and picking up

brush, or bulk items.”

If residents would like to get rid of their old trash containers, they can set them out during recycling on

Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The Frankfort Street Department asks that you mark the trash

containers so they know to take them. Residents will still need to have their trash set out by 7:00am on

their assigned trash day to ensure pick up.

Residents will receive additional information in their utility bills this month. A community meeting is set

for Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at the Frankfort Community Public Library (208 W. Clinton Street,

Frankfort) in Room 219. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm and residents are encouraged to attend.

The Frankfort Street Department is available for questions, please contact them at 765.659.2912

Original source can be found here.