City's Trash is Gold

Margin of error less than one percent for City of Indianapolis' solid waste removal

The Department of Public Works' (DPW) Solid Waste Division makes customer satisfaction their priority, and as the numbers show, it works. Last year's waste removal error rate fell below one percent.

In 2008 the Solid Waste Division made about 15 million pickups; 265,000 per week plus scheduled leaf removals. While they received 10,200 complaints from residents, less than 2,000 of these proved valid upon inspection.

"There are nearly 15 million opportunities for us to make a mistake when you consider we have 265,000 weekly pickups a year, yet we have an error rate of less than one percent," says John Williams, administrator for DPW's Solid Waste Division. "The numbers speak for themselves."

Procedure requires that each complaint be physically inspected for validity. The average complaint response time was less than a day (.87) in 2008. After verifying legitimacy of complaints, crews work to address the reported issue. The complaint is not considered officially closed out until resolved. The time frame for close out averaged less than a day and a half (1.37) in 2008.

Complaints often stem from non-removed trash. In most cases trash was not removed due to improper trash placement. Following trash placement rules will prevent many of these complaints. Proper protocol ensures the removal of waste and helps solid waste crews better serve the residents of Indianapolis. The most common violations include:

* Excessive trash quantities, the maximum is ten items
* Improper containers, trash must be in a trashcan ranging from five to 32 gallons with trash bags securely closed
* Unacceptable waste
* Pickup time, trash must be placed at the curb or alley by 7:00 am on collection day

For additional information regarding Indianapolis residential trash collection, please contact the Mayor's Action Center at 327-4622, visit htt://www.indygov.org/mac/ or e-mail maccenter@indygov.org.