City of St. Louis Launches Campaign to Improve Trash Service

A new campaign from the mayor’s office in St. Louis is attempting to improve trash service in the city and cut down on illegal dumping. The campaign, called “Clean Up St. Louis,” involves the installation of 100 new surveillance cameras and an expansion of trash pickup hours.

Collection employees will work in two eight-hour shifts from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the expanded hours are expected to be in place through mid-July.

Further, St. Louis police are offering rewards up to $100 for tips that ultimately lead to the arrest of those dumping trash illegally. There are currently enough funds for 100 rewards, according to a police department spokesperson.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch has more information:

A move toward more dependable trash service is part of a new "Clean Up St. Louis" campaign from Mayor Lyda Krewson's administration, which will include the deployment of 100 new surveillance cameras throughout the city to catch illegal dumping in lots and alleys.

"The city is not as clean as it could be. It's not as clean as we want it to be," Krewson told the Post-Dispatch.

St. Louis' biggest hindrance to timely trash collection has been a lack of operable trucks. The city's Refuse Division is temporarily expanding its trash pick-up hours in an effort to use fewer trucks in the declining fleet at a given time.

The new system is expected to be in place through mid-July, and refuse employees will work in two shifts: one from 4 a.m. to noon, and another from noon to 8 p.m., according to a memo sent to St. Louis aldermen.

Read the full story here.