June 17, 2020 5:40p
(WGTD)---The City of Kenosha leads in many areas, but certainly not in waste and recycling collections.
This summer Kenosha will be the last major municipality in the state—possibly the nation—to convert to an automated collection system. New trucks with long arms and claws will pick up carts from the curb and automatically dump their contents into the trucks without the driver having to get out.
Speaking on a recent edition of Community Matters, Waste and Recycling Superintendent Keir Powell says he realizes there’ll be hitches to overcome in implementing the new system. "I promise to collaborate and work with everyone to make sure that they're going to be okay with this," he said.
The new system is more efficient and will result in fewer injuries to workers. With the collectors jumping in and out of trucks on average of about 750 times a day, then having to often times hoist heavy loads, injuries are a big problem. "Injuries for these guys are pretty much inevitable," Powell said. "I don't think anyone hasn't had an injury." And that means higher worker compensation costs for the city.
"So getting this up and running has been something that's been a long time in coming and I'm really excited about it," Powell said.
A pilot route in the city will begin the week of July 13th. The city-wide rollout will start the week of Aug. 24th.
Property owners will be getting notifications in the mail in advance of their cart deliveries.
For the full program, click here.
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