To provide the best service possible, the City of Yakima’s Refuse Division is asking customers during winter weather to do the following:

• Make sure garbage carts are accessible and clear of all snow and ice at the curbside
• Keep a 36-inch-wide path around the carts to enable equipment to safely pick them up
• If your cart is not collected on the normal pick-up day, leave it so it can be collected later
• Do not jam garbage into carts
• If you live on steep terrain, please bag your garbage.  Operators may need to drive a smaller refuse vehicle to retrieve garbage. Having it bagged allows operators to remove refuse from a cart in a safe and timely manner
• Maintain clearance and access around dumpsters
• Avoid parking on the street on collection days to ensure access to your garbage cart.

“We’re asking the community to understand we will do our best to serve customers in a safe and timely manner,” said City of Yakima Solid Waste Manager Loretta Zammarchi. “We appreciate the public’s assistance in helping us help them.”

Zammarchi is asking refuse customers to not place their garbage carts next to parked vehicles. “The slippery, icy, and snow-covered roads make it hazardous to attempt emptying carts that are near parked vehicles,” she said.

While trying to maintain regular schedules, garbage collection could be suspended if a street is considered unsafe due to snow and icy conditions.

For more information, contact the City of Yakima Refuse Division at 575-6005.

Information is also available on-line at https://www.yakimawa.gov/services/refuse/