Changes made to the City of Dalton’s solid waste collection ordinance will take effect on Monday. The changes, which include requiring residents to call ahead or use an app before placing refuse (or bulky items that don’t fit in a garbage can or recycling bin) on the curb for pickup, were approved by the city council in July. The changes were made in hopes of reducing the amount of time unsightly piles of refuse sit out before being collected.
Residents can use the See Click Fix app on a mobile device or on the city’s website at daltonga.gov to request a refuse pickup. Residents can also call the Public Works Department at 706-278-7077. Refuse collection takes place on a biweekly basis, with the northern half of the city serviced on one week and the southern half serviced the next. It will not be necessary to call ahead or use the app for pickup of yard trimmings.
Beginning on Monday, there will also be a volume limit for each load of refuse and yard trimmings. For refuse, the maximum limit is two cubic yards of refuse, or about the length of a long bed pickup truck. For yard trimmings, that limit is four cubic yards of trimmings (about the length of two long bed pickup trucks), with individual units of yard trimming debris not to exceed eight feet in length or 100 pounds in weight. Residents will be charged a fee of $30 per cubic yards in excess of those limits.
Cardboard can no longer be left out as refuse. Boxes must be broken down and left in recycling bins. If the broken down boxes can’t fit in the recycling bin, residents should take them to one of six cardboard recycling dumpster locations in the city (Heritage Point Park, Dalton Public Works, Haig Mill Lake Park, Mitchell Street at the Rec Department, Dalton Fire Station #4, or Lakeshore Park). A map of these cardboard recycling points is available on the city website.
More information about the changes to the ordinance, including a listing of items that cannot be left out as refuse for curbside collection can be found at www.daltonga.gov under the Departments>Public Works>Garbage Policy tab. Information is also available in Spanish at Departments>Public Works>Garbage Poliza de Basura.