City commissioners in Rehoboth Beach argued over a series of changes to trash pickup last week.
Rehoboth Beach commissioners have debated quite a few changes to the way the city handles trash, yard waste and recycling for months now. And the city approved most of them as the deadline arrived to get some of them implemented.
Some changes received push back and did not get the green-light, including banning the collection of trash bags outside of a container.
“For some of our tenants, especially our elderly but also those that generate minimal trash, I’m willing to for them to put out little bags and not have to put out a full container for one little teeny bag,”said Mayor Stan Mills, whose thoughts were echoed by others on the commission.
Commissioner Ed Chrzanowski raised concerns about what effects these changes will have on city residents.
“You know I really, really hesitate taking services away from our residents — in what I think is an increasingly year round community,” Chrzanowski said.
The city approved removing twice a week pickup in November, save for the day after Thanksgiving, requiring the use of waste containers compatible with the tippers on city trucks and changing to a quarterly billing cycle.
But some changes won’t move forward: such as requiring the use of trash containers, starting leaf pickup services in November as opposed to October and shifting the dates for free bulk pickup from late April to early April.
And commissioners still must move on the most controversial proposal; making the city’s recycling program mandatory, and charging a fee for the service.
The board will discuss that change further at its December 6th meeting.
Roman Battaglia is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
