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Automated trash collection set for 2024 in South Fayette
Automated trash collection set for 2024
Free garbage carts to be provided to households in South Fayette
By Andrea Iglar
Automated trash collection will start next year in South Fayette Township.
Sometime in the first quarter of 2024—the dates will be announced—each household will receive one 96-gallon garbage cart, free of charge, for trash placed at the curb.
Trash pickup will continue in the current fashion until the carts are distributed. Keep using your current cans until you receive the new cart.
Township Manager John M. Barrett said municipal staff and the hauler, Waste Management, will work to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“We have a good service provider and a staff equipped to assist residents through these changes,” he said.
Garbage trucks will pick up and empty the trash carts with an automated arm, instead of a person exiting the truck and emptying cans by hand.
Automated recycling already is in effect with 64-gallon carts. Next year, residents will be permitted to put glass bottles, jugs and jars in their recycling bins. Since 2019, glass has been prohibited in curbside recycling.
The new trash carts will be delivered sometime between Jan. 1 and April 1 to single-family houses and residences in buildings with four or fewer units.
Each 96-gallon, wheeled tote holds approximately 7 to 8 tall kitchen bags. Residents will have the option to exchange it for a smaller cart—either 64-gallon (4 to 5 trash bags) or 32-gallon (2 to 3 bags).
A household will be able to rent an additional cart for about $110 a year. The rental fee is intended to cover the cost of collecting and disposing of that additional waste. Personal, store-bought garbage cans will not be permitted.
All trash must fit inside the cart; trash outside the cart will not be picked up. However, two bulk items per month (furniture, etc.) can be placed at curb, outside the cart, during a designated monthly bulk collection (details to be announced).
Leaf and yard waste collections will continue to be held periodically, using biodegradable paper bags placed at the curb (same as the current procedure). Outside of these special collections, yard waste will be treated like any other trash and must be bagged and placed in the garbage cart.
Special arrangements will be made with certain neighborhoods or streets where automated trash pickup is not possible. Service adjustments will occur as needed for people with limited mobility, unusual topography or other special issues.
Earlier this year, waste haulers provided bids for collection services in 19 communities, including South Fayette, through the South Hills Area Council of Governments, a nonprofit group of municipalities that collaborate and take advantage of the economy of scale.
Waste Management, the current hauler in South Fayette, submitted the low bid and was awarded the 5-year contract. Each municipality then selected from certain options.
In September, South Fayette approved a contract that includes automated trash collection for the years 2024 to 2028. Township staff recommended the automated option after reviewing cost scenarios and 1,128 responses to a public opinion poll.
Barrett said automatic collection will let residents dispose of a greater number of trash bags for a lower cost.
“You get more for less,” he said. “Unfortunately, the best price is still a big cost increase. This is not just a South Fayette issue. It’s happening all over the region.”
The township pays for trash and recycling services through tax revenue; residents are not billed directly. The 2023 cost of waste collection was about $1.5 million. Next year, the cost will rise by 40% ($600,000). Over five years, the additional expense adds up to $4.3 million compared to the current rate.
The contract did not offer any option for trash collection to remain exactly the same as it has been in past years. Options were either automated collection or a limited manual option. The manual option would have cost $1.4 million more than automated over five years and would have restricted the number of trash bags to five per week, per household.
In a public survey issued in August, 51% of respondents said they preferred automated collection; 40% said manual; 5% said either way is fine; and the remainder were unsure.
The majority—59%— said they were not willing to pay higher taxes for manual collection. Another 33% said they would pay more, and the rest were unsure.
About a fifth wrote comments and questions.
“The survey gave us a better understanding of what people’s concerns are so we can work on solutions with Waste Management,” Barrett said.
The general trash and recycling schedule is expected to stay the same in 2024. Trash is collected weekly on either Thursday or Friday, depending on the street. Recycling is picked up every other week on the same day as garbage.
