Mayor Stewart Will Not Veto Council's Non-Burnable Trash Plan

May 4, 2005

MAYOR STEWART WILL NOT VETO COUNCIL'S NON-BURNABLE TRASH PLAN
OUTLINES SCHEDULE AND RULES FOR PLANNED SPRING PICKUP

New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart indicated today that, despite serious reservations about the Common Council's plan for non-burnable trash pickup this spring, he will not veto the plan.

"Despite my continued belief that the city-wide non-burnable trash pickups have led to widespread abuse and cost overruns, I have decided to allow the spring pickup to go forward without vetoing it," Stewart said today.

Mayor Stewart noted that the costs for the pickup had skyrocketed to over $80,000 per pickup last year and he expressed concern that the cost could rise even higher. Many property owners have been bringing non-burnable items from out of town and leaving them at the curbside where they own property in New Britain. This has led to far more trash being left at New Britain curbs than was anticipated.

"Because of my desire to move this issue forward, I will not veto the spring pickup," Stewart continued. "However, in order to make certain that residents are given adequate notice of the schedule for this pickup and for the Department of Public Works to distribute educational materials so that residents will know what items they may and may not leave at the curb, the pickup will be scheduled to take place the week of June 13th. There simply was not enough time to prepare for the pickup and have it completed by the June 1st deadline approved by the Common Council."

Stewart indicated that, following this one citywide pickup, the City would then move forward with his previously announced plan to offer one free "call-in" curbside pickup per year for residential properties by appointment and additional pickups for a modest fee. Additionally, residents would still be allowed to continue bringing their metal items to the city landfill on Deming Road in Berlin at no cost.

"Because of environmental and cost issues, I still believe it is unwise for New Britain to return to the bi-annual trash pickup as we had done in the past. It is my belief that a coordinated communi- cations program educating the public on recycling and trash removal and the modest fee for future pickups will help to keep our city streets and curbs cleaner and make the process more user friendly," Stewart concluded.