GARBY carts are arriving

The first loads of GARBY carts are arriving at the Cedar Rapids Solid Waste & Recycling Division for distribution starting on July 20, 2011. The big question is, "When will I get my GARBY cart?" Customers with a Monday collection day will be the first to receive their GARBY cart. It will take a couple weeks to distribute the carts to everyone with a Monday collection. Once Monday is completed the crews will start to deliver carts to customers with a Tuesday collection, and so on. Notices will be issued after the completion of each section of the city to keep customers informed about the progress. Cart distribution is expected to last through the month of September, so Friday customers should not expect their cart to be delivered until September.

The carts will be delivered to customers' front curb near the street. If customers have an alley collection, they will need to bring the cart to their normal collection point for use. An information booklet will be attached to the cart with information on all services offered by the Cedar Rapids Solid Waste & Recycling Division.

Customers can start using the carts as soon as they are delivered. All garbage in the cart should be bagged. The cart can hold up to 100 pounds of bagged garbage. All extra garbage should be placed in bags (maximum 35 gallon, 40 pounds) with an extra garbage sticker clearly visible. Please leave about three feet between the GARBY cart and other obstacles when setting your cart out for collection. The space between the cart and obstacles allow our personnel and machinery enough room to maneuver the carts for collection.

If customers are interested in recycling their old garbage cans, there are a couple of drop-off sites available. City Carton Recycling at 901 Ingleside Dr. SW has a bin for both plastic and metal garbage cans at their 24 hour recycling drop-off center. Please rinse all cans and remove metal axles from the plastic can before recycling. Also, the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency provides free scrap metal recycling, which includes metal garbage cans, at both their locations: 2250 A St. SW in Cedar Rapids and 1954 County Home Rd. in Marion. The Agency is open Monday-Saturday 7am to 4:30pm.

More information is available at http://bit.ly/GARBY