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Refuse bin debate prompts changes to trash code

By SHERRI DAY
Published March 4, 2005

TAMPA - Proposed changes to the city's trash code would come too late for Palma Ceia residents who opposed placement of a bright yellow garbage bin at an entrance to their neighborhood.

But the changes could prevent similar clashes over the stinky topic of garbage.

"We don't want it to be an afterthought," said David McCary, Tampa's solid waste director. "We want it to be a part of your plan."

Last summer, Palma Ceia residents complained that a bin at a new Subway restaurant at MacDill and Palmira avenues was an obtrusive, ugly addition to one of the community's busiest thoroughfares. Residents and nearby business owners also feared foul odors and increased noise would spill into the community.

City officials said Subway's owners did not put the bin behind the building, because doing so would reduce parking space and hinder garbage trucks. To the neighbors' chagrin, the bin now sits only 2 feet from the right of way. But if the Subway had been erected under the proposed rules, the bin would have to be at least 20 feet from the street.

Inappropriate placement occurs throughout the city, McCary said. In downtown, for example, a government building was recently erected without room for trash bins. Instead, workers cross a street to reach a bin. That's a design flaw that the Solid Waste Department's new proposal would prohibit, McCary said.

The department wants to create a citywide standard to govern every new development, ranging from commercial buildings in South Tampa to single-family homes in New Tampa. Existing bins are protected under the old code unless property owners renovate, McCary said.

Standard setbacks are among the most significant proposed code changes. The department also set uniform standards for the space between bins and dwellings.

Under the draft code, each refuse bin must be housed in a structure that is at least 10 feet by 10 feet with a 10-foot opening. The code also lists specifications for trash bin screens, which must be compatible with the materials on buildings' front walls.

McCary said the Solid Waste Department began revising its code more than a year ago. Efforts accelerated after the Subway dispute. The agency is only at the beginning of its code revision process, said McCary, who presented a draft proposal to the City Council in December. The proposal would require council approval.

Lori Jennis, president of the Palma Ceia Neighborhood Association, praised the proposal. Members of the association provided McCary with several suggestions to ensure what happened in their neighborhood would not be repeated elsewhere in Tampa.

"I am pleased to see that basically they took the Subway dumpster issue and used that as an example," Jennis said. "That's the best demonstration of the need."

But Jennis and Palma Ceia activist Anni Ellis said they would still like to see a code that allows for eccentricities of older neighborhoods that fall outside of historic districts.

"When you're trying to put new code enforcement into old established areas, the two don't fit together," Ellis said.

Ellis said she was disappointed that McCary did not consult the neighborhood association before making his presentation to City Council.

Palma Ceia residents had also suggested that the city consider use of quieter commercial bins made of heavy duty plastic. Several cities including Philadelphia, Seattle and New York City have expressed interest in testing the product, said Doug Eck, general manager of Ameri-Kart Corp., which makes the containers. Selma, Ala., North Miami Beach and LaGrange, Ga., currently use the containers.

McCary said he recently ordered two of the plastic trash bins and plans to test them in Tampa neighborhoods for about six months before deciding whether to purchase more. The containers cost about $655 each, compared to $424 for a steel bin.

"We welcome any suggestions that are out there," he said. "That's what we're all about."

Sherri Day can be reached at 813-226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 3, 2005, 09:13:05]