Dumfries makes a clean sweep of refuse

By Aileen Streng

Published: November 30, 2008

Dumfries has encouraged residents over the last month to clean up a little by making it easier for them to do so.

For the first four Saturdays in November, the town provided two different neighborhoods with large industrial trash containers so residents could get rid of large and bulky items without having to haul them to the landfill.

And the residents took advantage of the opportunity to clean up and clean out, to the tune of 6.73 tons of trash col-lected throughout the town and throughout the month.

"All the responses from the citizens were very positive. They really appreciated it," said Greg Tkac, Dumfries director of public works. "I was happy it was a success."

Dumfries residents were advised in advance what Saturday the trash container would be in their neighborhood through fliers that were distributed. They also were advised about what items would be unacceptable for disposal, such as auto parts, liquids and fluids; appliances and large metal objects; as well as combustible, poisonous, hazard-ous and toxic material.

"It went off without a hitch," Tkac said. "They used it for all the right things."

Being given advance notice of when the trash container would be in each neighborhood also helped people plan their clean-up efforts, Tkac said.

"It went really, really well," Tkac said.

"They cleaned out their basements, they cleaned out their yards," he said. "There were old bed frames, old swing sets. There were all kinds of yard debris. There was landscaping material like old bushes."

The program, which was done on a trial basis, was designed to provide collection and disposal services in the neighborhoods in order to enhance the cleanliness of the community and as a convenience to the residents, accord-ing to former Dumfries Town Manager Dave Whitlow, who helped initiate the program before resigning earlier this month.

In a report to the Dumfries Town Council, Whitlow wrote that one of the problems experienced on trash pick-up days is that residents would put bulky items along the curbside without calling ahead of time to arrange for a special pick-up.

"This makes it difficult for the weekly collection to proceed smoothly and results in waste remaining along the streets for a longer period of time," Whitlow wrote. "This program would help to minimize these occurrences."

The original idea for the bulk waste program came from Dumfries Town Councilman Cliff Brewer.

"I thought this would be something that would be useful," Brewer said. "A lot of people don't own trucks and they have big items they need to get rid of. This is a lot more conven-ient."

The cost of the four-week program, including public works staffing and rental of the trash containers, was about $6,800.

Brewer said he thought it was a good use of town money.

Tkac agreed. "I have every intention to recommend to council that we do this on a more regular basis and incorporate it into our budget next year," he said.

Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.