Sold Waste Department director updates commissioners on upcoming changes in service
Homeowners in unincorporated Sarasota County started receiving postcards last week as county staff works on the transition from a manual garbage collection system to an automated, cart-based system, which will begin in March 2025, staff has reported.
During a presentation to the County Commission on Nov. 19, Brian Usher, director of the county’s Solid Waste Department, discussed the outreach, adding that county customers have until the end of December to choose their cart sizes. Those are 95 gallons, 65 gallons and 35 gallons.
Usher noted the sample cans standing in front of the County Commission dais that morning in the R.L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice.
Any member of the public who wants to take a look at the three sizes can do so, he pointed out, by visiting Fruitville Library, which is located at 100 Apex Road in Sarasota, or Elsie Quirk Library, which stands at 100 W. Dearborn St. in Englewood.
Otherwise, Usher told the commissioners, residents can follow the steps on the postcards to select the size they want, with details provided on the county’s website. However, he pointed out, the default size will be 95 gallons. Anyone not wishing to visit the county website to select a size will have a new 95-gallon cart delivered next year before the automated garbage collections begin on March 31, 2025, he said.
“They do not have to go online,” he stressed of customers who receive the postcards.
Any customer who does wish to review the garage cart information online may use the individual verification code found on the postcard the person received and enter it at scgov.net/selectyoursize to choose the cart size, a county news release says.
The verification code on each postcard is unique to the address to which it was mailed, the release points out.
“If residents have not received their postcard yet, please be patient,” the release asks. They “should be arriving in all mailboxes soon,” the release adds.
If anyone who wants to review the details and make a selection online has difficulty doing so, Usher told the commissioners — for example, if the person does not use the internet or is not confident following the online directions — that customer may call the county helpline, 311, for assistance.
Usher demonstrated to the commissioners how to follow the postcard directions to go online and choose a cart size. “It’s as easy as that.”
Timeline details and other options
County staff expects to receive the new carts by Jan. 6, 2025, Usher said; distribution of them to customers will proceed afterward.
Further, Usher told the commissioners that, after the new service begins next year, county residents can get additional carts if they need them. The customers will need to communicate with their provider to do so, he said, and a monthly service fee will cover the collection of garbage from that extra cart.
Moreover, he pointed out, after July 1, 2025, if any customer decides that a different size of cart would be preferable, the customer can request an exchange. “We’re asking customers to try the size of their carts for 90 days,” he said.
Usher reminded the commissioners that, on March 5, the previous board approved two franchise contracts. Waste Pro of Florida will serve North County, while FCC Environmental Services will cover South County, as The Sarasota News Leader has reported.
Those agreements do call for four free bulk collections per year, he continued, including up to 10 cubic yards of yard waste that has not been prepared in accord with county guidelines, such as restrictions on weight and length of tree and shrub branches.
Other examples of bulk items, Usher said, are used oil, tires and appliances.
Extra bulk pickups also may be coordinated through a customer’s service provider, Usher noted, indicating that those would entail an additional charge, as well.
Further, Usher reported, representatives of the new franchise companies have been reaching out to businesses. Each business will have to choose its own recycling company or remain a Waste Management customer, as noted in a slide that Usher showed the commissioners.
Usher did emphasize that no changes are planned to the recycling and yard waste collections. However, he indicated the potential for a change to the day of the week that customers will be served.
Usher also expressed his “special thanks” to the operators of the county’s 311 helpline, who — he pointed out — have “taken an enormous number of calls” about the coming changes.
“Love the graphics and the way you’ve rolled this out,” Commissioner Ron Cutsinger told Usher at the conclusion of the presentation.
(At the outset, Usher prompted laughter and one groan by telling the board members, “So we’re going to talk a little trash this morning.”)
More information about the new automated garbage collections may be found at scgov.net/freshstartwithacart.
Plaudits for the storm debris collection efforts
Commissioner Cutsinger also took the opportunity to thank Usher and his team “for the extraordinary work you’re doing” in regard to the collections of storm debris following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“I know it’s been challenging,” Cutsinger continued. “Folks are fatigued; they’re worn out; they’re exasperated. I know you’ve taken a lot of calls,” including calls he had made to Usher, Cutsinger acknowledged.
When Cutsinger asked if he was correct in believing that half the debris had been collected by Nov. 19, Usher responded, “We’re more than halfway through.”
Usher then told Cutsinger, “I very much appreciate [Cutsinger’s praise], on behalf of my staff … It’s a large task,” especially with the effort to expedite the storm debris collections, Usher added, “but we do it to serve the community. Thank you for recognizing it.”
Interim commission Chair Joe Neunder added plaudits from the entire board. (With Commissioner Michael Moran’s term having ended this month, and the board members not scheduled to formally choose their new chair and vice chair until they conduct their annual retreat in December, Neunder is taking over as chair for the remainder of this year; he was elected vice chair for 2024. Cutsinger was named interim vice chair on Nov. 19.)
Are we still using the re-cycle cans for paper and cans, or are we picking 3 new cans?
Editor’s Note: This change has to do only with household waste (garbage) collection. There is no change to recycling.