Did anyone on the Council in AC read this article? Does AC have these same "perks"... in their contract?
I do want to thank anyone who is responsible for the clean-up of graffiti on Rio del Mar and West Carolyn...90% done!
One big old truck, full of garbage on West Carolyn "GONE" today ! One truck to go and taggin on the corner of Rio del Mar and West Carolyn...and I'm happy! ( "Norte" on the green fence in white paint.)
I have one observation that I would like to share with who ever reads this site:
Since we all know that the real estate market is in the "dumpster"...why in the world do these agents not demand that the neighborhoods they are trying to sell homes in are kept "neat and clean". Even if it means...they do the dirty work!
Illegal dumping often unnecessary, too
By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 01/07/2009 01:04:34 AM PST
Half of a trashed mobile home, complete with a kitchen sink, sits abandoned and filled with garbage on the north end of Mare Island. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald) Some of the refuse being dumped in Vallejo's alleys and empty spaces could have been picked up for free instead, garbage company and city officials said Tuesday.
For the past two years, Vallejo Garbage Service has offered four "bulky item" pickups per year, a company spokeswoman said. And though the service is not intentionally being kept a secret, many people don't know.
"People don't read their newsletter in their bill," said Vallejo Garbage spokeswoman Susan Slater. "It's also online."
Vallejo resident Lona English was among those who did learn of the service and has used it with success.
"I saw it in the bill, and we've been doing it for a couple of years," she said. "And we've had some really big stuff, like brick and concrete, and I didn't think they'd take them, but they did."
The company will accept two cubic yards of material per pickup, which equals about 10 33-gallon bags, Slater said. A couch, bed or washer and dryer equal two cubic yards, she said. Refrigerators, also equal to two cubic yards, can be picked up as long as the doors are removed, she added.
"You must call at least one day before your regular pickup day - we only do this on your regular garbage day - and you must know exactly what you will be putting out," Slater said. "But we can do all four of your allotted pickups at one time."
The four free pickups are good only for each calendar year, and don't roll over, she said.
"If you don't use them, you lose them," Slater
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said.
Vallejo Garbage once offered two such pickups annually at the company's discretion, notifying neighborhoods when they'd be by, but most people didn't get the message, she said.
"We'd send a flyer, but most people didn't know," she said. "We changed it as part of an agreement with the city for the convenience of the customers."
The firm also used to charge an extra $30 or $40 to pick up refrigerators or washers, dryers and the like. Now it's free, Slater said.
The types of items that can't be included with the bulky pickups are hazardous waste like propane tanks and oil-based paints, green waste, recyclables, tires and electronics.
"Electronics, or anything with a cord, can be brought to us for free between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday," Slater said. "That's new for us. We've only been doing it four months."
Valcore Recycling, 38 Sheridan St., offers confidential document shredding on the third Saturday of each month for $5 for up to 20 pounds, said city recycling coordinator Derek Crutchfield. This helps fight identity theft, he said.
"People can watch their papers shredded," Crutchfield said. "In this economy, people have to be really careful with their garbage."
But, there still are few free or easy ways to dispose of an unwanted boat, car, RV or the like, Slater said. These items often wind up dumped illegally, often on Mare Island, said Vallejo Code Enforcement Manager, Nimat Shakoor-Grantham.
"People don't want to pay, and if they think they'll have to pay, they sometimes dump illegally," she said. "Boats, trailers, cars, motor homes, are difficult to get rid of for free, so they dump them on Mare Island, and the city has to find a way to get rid of it."
Sometimes auto wreckers and dismantlers will haul away a derelict car, and will often pay up to $50, Crutchfield said, adding that the phone book's recycle guide notes organizations to which cars can be donated. He also said tires can be dumped for free at the city's annual Earth Day recycling event which is usually held in April.
Vallejo resident Tim O'Connor, who has publicly complained about illegal dumping behind his Steffan Street home, said it might end up costing the city less if it were to set up some free dump stations for this type of refuse.
"The corporation yard at Lincoln Road East by Springs Road would be perfect," he said. "These things wind up in my ally, and I'm getting desperate. What people are doing to my neighborhood is criminal. Someone needs to step up and do something different."
That wouldn't be so easy, since such a site would have to be monitored and managed, Shakoor-Grantham said, "but it's an idea."
• E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at
RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.
Did anyone on the Council in AC read this article? Does AC have these same "perks"... in their contract?
I do want to thank anyone who is responsible for the clean-up of graffiti on Rio del Mar and West Carolyn...90% done!
One big old truck, full of garbage on West Carolyn "GONE" today ! One truck to go and taggin on the corner of Rio del Mar and West Carolyn...and I'm happy! ( "Norte" on the green fence in white paint.)
I have one observation that I would like to share with who ever reads this site:
Since we all know that the real estate market is in the "dumpster"...why in the world do these agents not demand that the neighborhoods they are trying to sell homes in are kept "neat and clean". Even if it means...they do the dirty work!
Illegal dumping often unnecessary, too
By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 01/07/2009 01:04:34 AM PST
Half of a trashed mobile home, complete with a kitchen sink, sits abandoned and filled with garbage on the north end of Mare Island. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald) Some of the refuse being dumped in Vallejo's alleys and empty spaces could have been picked up for free instead, garbage company and city officials said Tuesday.
For the past two years, Vallejo Garbage Service has offered four "bulky item" pickups per year, a company spokeswoman said. And though the service is not intentionally being kept a secret, many people don't know.
"People don't read their newsletter in their bill," said Vallejo Garbage spokeswoman Susan Slater. "It's also online."
Vallejo resident Lona English was among those who did learn of the service and has used it with success.
"I saw it in the bill, and we've been doing it for a couple of years," she said. "And we've had some really big stuff, like brick and concrete, and I didn't think they'd take them, but they did."
The company will accept two cubic yards of material per pickup, which equals about 10 33-gallon bags, Slater said. A couch, bed or washer and dryer equal two cubic yards, she said. Refrigerators, also equal to two cubic yards, can be picked up as long as the doors are removed, she added.
"You must call at least one day before your regular pickup day - we only do this on your regular garbage day - and you must know exactly what you will be putting out," Slater said. "But we can do all four of your allotted pickups at one time."
The four free pickups are good only for each calendar year, and don't roll over, she said.
"If you don't use them, you lose them," Slater
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
said.
Vallejo Garbage once offered two such pickups annually at the company's discretion, notifying neighborhoods when they'd be by, but most people didn't get the message, she said.
"We'd send a flyer, but most people didn't know," she said. "We changed it as part of an agreement with the city for the convenience of the customers."
The firm also used to charge an extra $30 or $40 to pick up refrigerators or washers, dryers and the like. Now it's free, Slater said.
The types of items that can't be included with the bulky pickups are hazardous waste like propane tanks and oil-based paints, green waste, recyclables, tires and electronics.
"Electronics, or anything with a cord, can be brought to us for free between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday," Slater said. "That's new for us. We've only been doing it four months."
Valcore Recycling, 38 Sheridan St., offers confidential document shredding on the third Saturday of each month for $5 for up to 20 pounds, said city recycling coordinator Derek Crutchfield. This helps fight identity theft, he said.
"People can watch their papers shredded," Crutchfield said. "In this economy, people have to be really careful with their garbage."
But, there still are few free or easy ways to dispose of an unwanted boat, car, RV or the like, Slater said. These items often wind up dumped illegally, often on Mare Island, said Vallejo Code Enforcement Manager, Nimat Shakoor-Grantham.
"People don't want to pay, and if they think they'll have to pay, they sometimes dump illegally," she said. "Boats, trailers, cars, motor homes, are difficult to get rid of for free, so they dump them on Mare Island, and the city has to find a way to get rid of it."
Sometimes auto wreckers and dismantlers will haul away a derelict car, and will often pay up to $50, Crutchfield said, adding that the phone book's recycle guide notes organizations to which cars can be donated. He also said tires can be dumped for free at the city's annual Earth Day recycling event which is usually held in April.
Vallejo resident Tim O'Connor, who has publicly complained about illegal dumping behind his Steffan Street home, said it might end up costing the city less if it were to set up some free dump stations for this type of refuse.
"The corporation yard at Lincoln Road East by Springs Road would be perfect," he said. "These things wind up in my ally, and I'm getting desperate. What people are doing to my neighborhood is criminal. Someone needs to step up and do something different."
That wouldn't be so easy, since such a site would have to be monitored and managed, Shakoor-Grantham said, "but it's an idea."
• E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.