At City Hall Tonight: Council Asked to Spend $1 Million on Recyclables

Working on a timeline to achieve “zero waste” by 2040 and already collecting 10 tons of recyclables each week, Pasadena’s Department of Public Works goes before the City Council tonight with proposals to buy new trucks it says are vital to improve efficiency.

The Dept.’s plan calls for spending over $1 million on rear-loading refuse truck and three “autocar” side loader trucks.

Currently, the Department of Public Works uses a ten-foot stake bed truck to pick up filled recycling containers, transport them to the City Yards, dump them, and return the empty containers to the curb.

With the rear loader truck, a “tipper” arm would instead pick up a filled container, empty it into the truck, and set it back down at the curb. This eliminates the need to transport containers to and from the City Yard and should increase efficiency because the driver can go directly to the recycling facility.

The Public Works Dept. says the truck also is more fuel-efficient and has fewer emissions.

Additionally, the council will decide whether or not to purchase three side loader trucks. These would replace old trucks that have reached their ten-year life cycle and the Dept. says have begun to incur high maintenance costs.

These three trucks are powered by compressed natural gas and would be used to collect residential mixed and yard waste, as well as recyclable materials.

The fleet supports the state’s required AB 341 legislation compliance, which is designed to help California reach its recycling goal of 75% by 2020. The city of Pasadena’s goal is to achieve zero waste by 2040.

AB 341 requires that businesses, apartments with at least five units, and public entities that generate four cubic yards or more of waste per week have to have a recycling program in place.