How can the truck used to pick up the trash in the alleys not be used to pick up the recycling in the alleys when it's the same truck?

the new trucks are taller due to the fuel tank on the top and the 2 collections must stay separate from contamination of food stuff

I can understand the fact that the recycling needs to stay separated from the trash for that reason, but a while ago the city got new garbage trucks with the fuel tanks on the top and there were crews trimming the trees in the alleys for those trucks. I still can't see why we can't blue bins in the alleys to be emptied like in the other neighborhoods..

What the city fails to recognize is that this is not a "one size fits all" program. Most homes with alley pick up - or at least in the Old NE - don't have ample access to their back yard without dragging the bin down the block and back down the alley. I'm personally storing mine in the alley. I think the norm is that residents would rather create a spot in the alley to store the bin and have it picked up there rather than store it in their front yard.

Bottom line is that our 100+ year old neighborhood is among the 40% of the city that was designed for alley service for utilities and sanitation. To have one service - that I'm being charged incrementally for - switched to the front of the property is simply unacceptable. Why is 40% of the city being asked to conform to what works for only 60%?

Response to the city FAQ document......

· Recycling containers would result in placement of three to four times more containers than currently exist in alleys. (Yes, but that is the same incremental number that will be placed in the street - so what?)

· Most alleys do not have enough room to accommodate recycling containers - (That is not a fact.)
Ø Fences that have been pushed out to the end of property lines prevent any additional containers from being placed behind those homes Homeowners have the choice to modify their fence or place the container on their driveway.

Ø Garages and driveways cannot be blocked with containers. (Correct, that is also true for curb pick up.)

Ø Cars parked in the alley block potential places for containers Cars parked in streets do to. (Cars simply can not park where the container is located in the alley.)

Ø Many alleys are so narrow that placement of the required number of containers would make the alleys impassable for any vehicle, especially Sanitation collection and fire/rescue vehicles. (Containers can not be stored on the alley itself. If stored in front they will be placed in the roadway. There is a greater potential to disturb traffic flow with curbside pickup.)

Ø Overhead utilities electric, cable and telephone lines interfere with the automated side-arm collection of additional containers - the 300 gallon containers are placed in a fashion to avoid these obstacles and low lying branches. (Kevin King already told us the trucks are not too big for the alley. I saw one today that looks to be a modified F250 - clearance should not be a problem. The can was not lifted above the truck.)

Ø Containers left out after collection may interfere with routine collection of solid waste. (Containers are not to be stored less then 3 ft from a trash container - same rule that currently applies to trash containers.)

Ø Recycling containers may interfere with collection of bulky items from the alley. (This makes no sense. If the recycling container is not in the roadway then there shouldn't be a problem.)

Ø The additional traffic in the alleys from collection vehicles will result in more alley maintenance than roadway maintenance costs. (You are driving the trucks on one surface or the other. I'd rather have trucks damage my alley than my street.)

Using 300 gallon containers for recycling, if room for placement was available, would result in considerable contamination - i.e., solid waste, brush and illegal dumping. (No mater the size, I keep my container in the alley. Modify the opening if you wish to prevent contamination.)

I'm all for recycling, but I'm not for how this program was dropped on our laps with a fee that probably will only go up over time. The city should have done more research and gotten some input from the residents.