The San Pedro Town Council hereby informs the general public that effective Friday, May 4th, 2018, all garbage receptacles/garbage drums used for the disposal of residential and commercial garbage must be placed inside your yard.

Please note that all garbage bins must be easily accessible by sanitation workers for disposal.

Failure to comply in removing bins off the street will result in the removal of these bins by the San Pedro Town Council.



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New garbage collection regulations implemented by SPTC

A new garbage collection regulation mandated by The San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) has many island residents unhappy. Effective Friday, May 4th, all garbage containers must be placed inside the yards of residential and commercial areas. This new regulation also demands that all garbage bins must be easily accessible by its sanitation personnel for disposal, and warns that failure to follow this new rule will result in the removal of their garbage containers from the street.

The announcement was made on Thursday, April 26th and despite the immediate opposition by residents, the new regulation will go into effect as is. Residents are frustrated that the public was not consulted prior to this new policy or that a trial period was imposed. “This will be complicated. The Town Council should reach out to residents before implementing these rules,” said one concerned resident, “this will cause more problems than solutions.” Many homeowners claim that the garbage collectors are careless once garbage has been tossed in the collection truck, and they simply leave the garbage bins lying around.

Many homes are fenced in to contain guard dogs, and residents worry that sanitation personnel will not want to enter the gates to access the garbage cans for fear of their animals. Some residents are already claiming that they will not be held liable if any of the garbage collectors are attacked by their guard dogs, as they don’t believe in having to tether them inside their fenced property. Another potential scenario involves the same personnel not latching gates properly, allowing dogs to escape, thus adding to the stray dog issue.

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I'm confused. Does that mean they plan on going into everyone's yard to pick up garbage? Or does it mean, put the bins out on garbage day, and put them back in the yard afterwards? How is this supposed to be accomplished in fully fenced yards?

ask the Town Board ?

And commercial garbage goes inside your yard as well? Does anyone even read these things before they release them?

Absolutely commercial garbage must be contained within the confines of the business' property. The majority of COMMERCIAL garbage should be removed responsibly by the business that generates that trash also. The town council should be hauling off private home garbage. Trash, yard debris, commercial garbage and trash as well as items such as refrigerators, large boxes, construction materials, packaging such as styrofoam and sheet plastic and buckets should be responsibly disposed of by the entity that generated it also. ie. Pay for private hire pick up services. There are many operators offering such private pick up services.

I have always done this with my household garbage - after all, I don't want to have to pick up all the trash every time a raccoon roots around in the trash left on the curb side. My yard is fully fenced. And if I miss the trash guys pick up I pay for private pick up. The garbage guys are happy to open a gate and reach in and grab a garbage can. If you have bad dogs you need to work on making a garbage pick-up easy for the town but installing a cut-in within your fence that is off the road but easily accessible by the garbage guys. There are many, many instances of ingenious systems in place if you drive around and take a look at how others have responsibly been managing their waste for years.

We have always placed our garbage cans outside on pick-up days just before the truck arrives, and put them back inside the fenced yard immediately after they pick it up. The message sent out doesn't say that at all. Lots of room open for interpretation.