Why did Modesto switch to address-based pickup of blue cans? Your question, answered
Less than a month ago, the city of Modesto changed its waste-collection system. It returned to picking up green cans on a weekly schedule along with black cans, and it put out a new schedule for blue bin pickup based on address.
A Modesto Bee reader asked how garbage trucks are collecting the recycling in the blue cans and whether a second truck comes by just for recycling.
We reached out to the city to answer this question, as well as why the system for picking up recyclable materials changed.
Why did Modesto’s recycle pickup schedule change?
Modesto chose to have biweekly recycling collection because they “consistently receive feedback that customers do not fill up their blue recycling bins,” said Diana Ruiz-Del Re, a spokeswoman for the city.
“We keep records on complaints about too little service and monitor containers during route reviews to see if they are overfilled or missorted,” Ruiz-Del Re said. “Biweekly collection also costs less than weekly collection of the recycling container, so cost savings was a consideration for the current collection schedule.”
The city explored other options besides picking up based on even or odd addresses, including collecting on opposite weeks based on region. They found the logistics of those options were more confusing to residents and difficult for the waste haulers to accomplish, Ruiz-Del Re said.
Modestans should have received by mail a color-coded 2023-24 recycling collection calendar that, through next July, shows which weeks residents at odd and even addresses will have their blue bins emptied. The information also is available at www.modestogov.com/2876/Containers.
In the coming months, she said the city is working with an independent consultant to review efficiencies in the current collection schedules and rates.
How do garbage trucks collect recycling in Modesto?
Modesto’s two hauler companies, Bertolloti Disposal and Gilton Solid Waste Management, have slightly different methods of collecting recycling, Ruiz-Del Re said.
Which hauler residents have is determined by which streets they live on, according to the city’s website. The collection hours are between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Bertolotti’s trucks do not have multiple compartments, Ruiz-Del Re said. The company uses separate trucks to collect each type of bin.
Gilton has one fleet of trucks, which have two compartments, she said. These trucks collect waste from the green and black cans at the same time every week.
“If you watch the truck closely while it’s emptying the container, you can see a large black flap that moves between pickups,” Ruiz-Del Re said. “This directs the correct waste into the correct compartment.”
A separate fleet of trucks collects the blue cans and has one compartment that collects only recycling every other week, she said.
This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 11:25 AM.
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