(KAIR)--The city of Atchison has been working diligently for the past year to put in place an automated trash collection program for residents, and part of this program is making sure every resident in the city has the same poly trash cart. Atchison city manager Trey Cocking says the process of putting out the carts started last fall when the city issued 634 carts to customers. That went over well, so they put out an additional 634 carts in the spring of this year. That also went over well, so the city is planning to do an entire city rollout of these cans.

Cocking has nothing but praise for the new carts, saying that they are a uniform device for the entire city. He goes on to say that there are some city blocks that have one side with the cans, and the other side without, and trash day looks so much better on the half of the block that has the cans. These cans will really help clean up the community and get rid of all the loose litter that may be floating around.

There is a big safety concern to be taken into consideration as well. Cocking says there was an incidence about ten years ago where a city trash collector was stuck by a needle while collecting trash. This, combined with the fact that these collectors life a lot of weight every day means that these new automated systems can do a lot to ensure the safety of city employees.
The Atchison city commission voted 5-0 during their meeting Monday evening, to approve the purchase of an additional 2,650 toter trash carts for an amount not to exceed $138,269.16.