CLEARWATER, Fla. — Trash collection on Clearwater Beach is about to get a little easier, and city leaders say the beach will be cleaner. It’s costing the city $1.6 million.
The city just purchased six Italian trash cans. The actual trash container is the size of a dumpster, and it’s under the ground.
“Basically the receptacle is above the ground. People will throw their garbage in it and it will go down,” said Solid Waste Director Earl Gloster.
The sanitation workers will then use a crane truck to lift the container out of the ground and dump the trash.
Glosser says this will much more efficient, and will save the city money in the long run. Right now workers have to make two to three trips a day collecting trash before it over flows. Gloster said those trips increase during busy seasons.
“You won’t have the trash cans overflowing in between our servicing,” he said. “You will have one truck with two guys going out there once a day versus a truck with three guys four times a day.”
Clearwater will be the second city in the country to use the underground refuse system. Kissimmee was the first.
The city will start installation after Spring Break, and they should be completed by the summer. Three of the trash cans will be at the beach access at Mandalay Park and three will be on Mandalay Ave. The city’s supplier is donating a seventh trash can. Gloster said that one will go at Spectrum field.
The city will use the seven to determine if more should be purchased for other areas.
“I feel comfortable with them,” Gloster said. “We looked at these for two years. They will be great for Clearwater.”
