Letting go of the claw

Every spring and fall, piles of grass, leaves and tree trimmings clutter Sacramento streets. A handful of groups are trying to change that, to save the city money and clean up the roadways. They also argue that loose green waste presents a serious health-and-safety hazard.

That’s why the city wants to dramatically expand its voluntary “green waste” collection program during the next few months.

Sacramento integrated waste manager Edison Hicks is leading the effort. Currently, 60,000 homes participate in the green bin program, which allows residents to dump their clippings into special green-waste containers for pickup on their regular trash day. Hicks hopes to increase that number to more than 100,000 participants, and he is working with the city council to boost the number of green-waste bins in the city.

“The [Sacramento city] council members are in favor of moving forward because there’s a cost factor involved,” said Hicks. “I think that’s one of the key factors for them.”

Hicks said that green-waste containers are available throughout all city council districts, but many residents can’t get the cans simply because the city ran out of money to purchase them. The green-waste bins cost $49 each. Hicks said that the city will purchase more cans through a debt service that will take five to seven years to repay.

Hicks said that when given a choice, 95 percent of residents take the waste-container option.

Those who dump their grass and tree clippings in green-waste bins are charged $3 less on their city trash bill, compared to those who have their waste picked up by the “claw,” a front-end loader that scrapes clippings off the street. But using the claw to pick up green waste requires two people—as opposed to one for bin pickup—plus the cost of maintenance. Two-man claw teams can only make between 1,100 to 1,500 collection stops a day, while a single operator can collect 1,600-2,000 green-waste bins per day. Hicks estimates that switching to a container-only system would save the city more than $1 million per year.

But as more people switch from street dumping to canning their waste, the cost of running the claw will be shared by fewer people. That means that individuals who dump their green waste in the streets will soon pay more. Hicks believes that fee will spike sometime in the next year.

Hicks said that the next step is to increase the number of customers who participate in the voluntary green-waste bin program, though many may resist the idea.

“For a lot of people, three bucks isn’t a lot,” said Hicks. “And in Sacramento, it’s the God-given right to throw stuff in the street. Some people will do that because that’s what they’ve done their whole life.”

Well, perhaps not God-given, but the right to dump your green waste or “garden refuse” is enshrined in Sacramento’s city charter.

And voters have twice rejected plans to mandate containerization. In 1977, voters approved a ballot measure barring the city council from enforcing the use of green-waste containers. Then in 1988, voters defeated Measure F, which would have barred curbside green-waste dumping. Those earlier efforts would have made residents dump clippings into their regular trash bins.

But this isn’t just about cost or aesthetics; some Sacramento organizations say that green waste in the streets poses a health-and-safety hazard.

David Brown, manager of the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District, said that dumping green waste in the streets exacerbates mosquito-control problems. Clippings that end up in storm drains can create a mosquito breeding ground. Much of Sacramento uses a combined storm-water and sewage system. When green clippings mix with that system, mosquitoes find the perfect spot to lay their eggs.

“The increased vegetation in that type of aquatic habitat reduces the efficacy of mosquito-control agents that we use to try to control the mosquitoes in those catch basins or storm drains,” explained Brown.

Mosquitoes can spread a host of blood-borne illnesses, the most notable being West Nile virus. Brown said that his agency recently provided the city with $30,000 to buy about 600 green-waste cans.

Brown said that Mosquito and Vector Control and Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates have teamed up to present the issue to the city council.

SABA executive director Walt Seifert has had a run-in, literally, with green waste. One night he was riding his bicycle down H Street, when a car turning left suddenly cut in front of him. Seifert swerved to avoid getting hit. But he ran into a pile of wet grass that had been left in the street.

“It was just like hitting a patch of ice, and I went down,” Seifert recalled. He wasn’t seriously hurt, but he was lucky. And he’s not the only cyclist who’s been hurt by the clippings blocking bike lanes.

While he doesn’t have hard numbers on how many cyclists have been injured by running into green-waste piles, he has plenty of horror stories.

“I’ve heard anecdotes about people crashing into the piles and getting hurt,” said Seifert. “I know one SABA member who was hurt pretty badly, resulting in lost work time. I’ve heard other stories about broken [bicycle] rims.

“I know that people do get hurt and that it discourages people from bicycling because they feel less safe,” explained Seifert. “When people encounter a green-waste pile, they have to veer out into traffic. That’s a problem.

“I’m convinced that it’s the most likely way for me to crash, especially at night when it’s hard for me to see.”

SABA has launched a Can the Trash! initiative, asking its members to report bicycle lanes blocked by green waste.

Seifert said that, along with Davis, Sacramento is one of the few jurisdictions left in California that permits dumping green waste in the street.

“I think there’s a history of people not wanting to switch to containers,” said Seifert. “People see it as a matter of convenience. They’re especially concerned about the fall season and not having enough capacity in the containers. But somehow, people elsewhere seem to survive.”