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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) — Officials with the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities delivered a progress report this week to Jamestown’s City Council, discussing the new, and at times controversial, garbage can rollout.
In Fall 2021 Jamestown’s utility provider issued new garbage cans. Two years later, officials are looking back at the new way of “taking out the trash.”
“I think it’s going really well. I think from a container stand point and a compliance standpoint, it’s improved greatly. If we look back 12 months, I think there’s been a big focus on containers left out on the terrace for more than a couple days, and trying to remind people of city code that it has to be removed and it can’t just sit out there all week long,” said BPU General Manager David Leathers.
At first, not everyone was pleased with the revamped garbage collection effort. Just months into the initiative, several residents voiced concerns about a new policy forcing residents to enclose all garbage inside their bins, preventing an overflow of trash.
“The containers and the whole program I think have helped our employees greatly as well. I think from a physical standpoint of lifting and moving bags from needles and glass and sharp exposure. I think from a health and wellness standpoint, and employee safety, it’s been a great program for us,” Leathers said.
During Monday’s City Council meeting, BPU General Manager David Leathers also talked about electric production.
“We always talk about electric reliability is keeping the lights on, but I don’t want people to talk about that anymore because with this electrification, you’re impacting people’s lives if you’re not reliable so it’s much more than keeping the lights on,” said Leathers.
In the end, Leathers believes that communication is key, especially when dealing with public displeasure, like the aforementioned garbage pickup policy.
“We appreciate very much when you have any questions, you call, you text, you email, so we’re here to support you and be responsive and we take that very seriously so we appreciate you reaching out whenever you need to,” Leathers said.
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