Icy road conditions are causing a four-hour delay for City of Yakima refuse operators.
“We had a delay because we couldn’t get out of the shop due to icy roads,” said City of Yakima Solid Waste Manager Loretta Zammarchi.
Due to the holidays, the City’s Refuse Division is picking up garbage on Thursday’s route today, Friday, December 29th and Friday’s route tomorrow, Saturday, December 30th.
“If we miss a route today because of the ice please leave your carts out and we will try and get it tomorrow,” Zammarchi said. “If not we’ll get it as soon as we can.”
To provide the best service possible, the City’s Refuse Division is asking customers during winter weather to also 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 your 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
“Ice and snow cause driving problems for everyone and when you drive a 30-ton garbage truck, it can be especially challenging,” said Zammarchi. “We appreciate the public’s assistance in helping us help them.”
While trying to maintain regular schedules, garbage collection could be suspended if a street is considered unsafe due to snow and icy conditions.
If you have any questions, please contact the City of Yakima Refuse Division at 575-6005.
Information is also available on-line at https://www.yakimawa.gov/services/refuse/