No Trash Pickup on Memorial Day

NO City trash service on Monday, May 25

There will be NO residential trash, heavy trash, or curbside recycling service on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day. All residential trash, heavy trash and curbside recycling routes will run one day behind for the entire week. Monday routes will be serviced on Tuesday, May 26; Tuesday routes will be serviced on Wednesday, May 27; and so on, through Friday routes being serviced on Saturday, May 30. All services will return to normal schedules on Monday June 1.

The Great Indy Cleanup

The Great Indy Cleanup

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, Mayor Greg Ballard will be the first among thousands of volunteers from 70 different neighborhood organizations to flood the streets of Indianapolis in an effort to give Indianapolis a spring cleaning. Volunteers will pick up litter, clean alleys, and plant trees during the kickoff of the "Great Indy Cleanup," a litter abatement program which runs annually from April through October.

"The Great Indy Cleanup is a great opportunity for everyone to do their part to make our community cleaner and safer," said Mayor Greg Ballard. "I encourage all residents to not only get involved today, but to commit to keeping our neighborhoods clean throughout the summer and all year round."

The "Great Indy Cleanup," a program of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB) in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, South Side Landfill, Covanta Energy and Republic Services, aims to relieve streets, walkways and alleys of the obtrusive eyesores left behind by litter and illegal dumping. Neighborhoods receive help from DPW crews with trash trucks and dumpsters. KIB coordinates the event and provides gloves, garbage bags, banners and donated Coca-Cola products to help make the cleanup a success. Disposal of the trash is generously donated by South Side Landfill and Covanta Energy.

Last year, volunteers removed more than 2 million pounds of litter through 277 neighborhood cleanups as a part of this program. The "Great Indy Cleanup" is part of the "Great American Cleanup," the nation's largest community improvement program, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

The kickoff ceremony will be held at 8:00 a.m. at Charles A. Tindley School, 3960 Meadows Dr. and will include a call to action from Mayor Ballard for all residents to pick up litter throughout the month of April. Mayor Ballard's "Pledge to Pitch In" program encourages all residents to do their part throughout the month of April by cleaning up yards, streets and alleys to help keep their communities free of litter and debris. Residents can register to "Pledge to Pitch In" by calling 317.327.5300 or visiting http://www.indy.gov/eGov/Mayor/Pages/home.aspx.


TIMELINE FOR APRIL 25:

8 a.m.
Opening Ceremony Speakers: Greg Ballard, Mayor of Indianapolis; Olgen Williams, Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis; David Forsell, President of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.; Marcus Robinson, Principal and CEO of Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School and Dr. Charlie Schlegel, School Director of Challenge Foundation Academy. Great Indy Butt Out high school winners announced. Top two high schools that picked up the most cigarette butts in the month of April will be acknowledged by Mayor Ballard.

8:45 a.m.
Volunteers and residents start cleaning the city. Mayor Ballard and staff will be joining neighbors and volunteers to clean up litter throughout Indianapolis.

1 p.m.
Mayor Ballard will join Warren Pride for the Wrap-up Celebration at Creston Middle School, 10975 East Prospect.

"Every Litter Bit Helps"
Beginning April 6th, residents have been able to register for the Every Litter Bit Helps campaign. Sign up at any YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, any Marion County Public Library, or any Marion County Papa John's Restaurant. Volunteers will receive a trash bag and gloves, and can place their collected litter out for their standard weekly trash pickup.

The Great Indy Cleanup program kicks off on Saturday, April 25 and runs through October. Neighborhoods can organize their own litter cleanups and receive resources through KIB. KIB provides gloves and trash bags as long as supplies last. Limited dumpsters are available. To sign-up, visit www.kibi.org or contact Tammy Stevens at tstevens@kibi.org or 264-7555, x116 for information.

While KIB encourages private beautification projects around the home and personal property, the resources allocated to this neighborhood development initiative are reserved for cleaning public spaces only-not for personal/household use.

For more information about other beautification programs and resources that can help your neighborhood, visit www.kibi.org.

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.

Every Litter Bit Helps cleanup

EVERY LITTER BIT HELPS CAMPAIGN INVITES INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE IN CITYWIDE EFFORT TO CLEAN COMMUNITY

Mayor Greg Ballard and the City of Indianapolis in partnership with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB), is once again coordinating an annual citywide cleanup effort to kick off the litter abatement program called the Great Indy Cleanup. On Saturday, April 25th, more than 70 neighborhood groups will bring thousands of volunteers to city streets, alleys and public spaces to pick up thousands of pounds of litter and debris.

This year, individuals are invited to get involved by signing up to be a part of the Every Litter Bit Helps campaign on April 25th. Please visit one of KIB’s distribution partners listed below between now and April 25th to sign up and receive a trash bag and gloves.

Distribution partners:

All YMCA of Greater Indianapolis locations

All Marion County Public Library locations

All Marion County Papa John’s Restaurant locations

You can help by cleaning up on your block, in your neighborhood park, at your church or school. Simply fill a bag with litter anywhere in Indianapolis to help keep it beautiful. Then place the bag at your curb for your weekly trash pickup!

Gathering together to clean Indy’s neighborhoods helps to foster pride in communities, develop relationships amongst neighbors, and deter crime – and it makes Indianapolis a healthier and more beautiful place to live. Please join us, because Every Litter Bit Helps.

About SustainIndy:

Mayor Ballard launched SustainIndy and created the Office of Sustainability in October of 2008. Both represent an innovative enterprise aimed at delivering long-term cost savings to the city, building the local economy, improving our quality of life and enhancing our environmental and public health. Its efforts are designed to aggressively move Indianapolis forward in making it one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.sustainindy.org.

About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc:

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization uniting people to beautify the city and improve its environment. In 2008, KIB worked with more than 44,000 volunteers on 500 community projects. The Great Indy Cleanup is sponsored by the City of Indianapolis, South Side Landfill, Republic Services and Covanta Energy.

White River / Pleasant Run Clean-up + Details

Reminder, for those that are able to come, we have a clean-up this Saturday along Pleasant Run. Please also forward to anyone you feel would be interested.

For those who officially signed up (via the link below) you can check in at the White River State Park parking lot at 8:00 for a free t-shirt and a few other goodies. You will then either be bussed over to Pleasant Run or can drive. One last perk of signing up is a free lunch back at the White River State Park when we are done. However, even if you didn't officially sign up, please feel free to drop by the Pleasant Run Trail clean-up area anytime between 8:30 and 11:00. We will have our launching point at Shelby and pleasant Run and will have donuts, gloves, trashbags and water. Come out and join the fun as we beautify the area where the Lilly Day of Service will be doing the tree plantings next month.

White River / Pleasant Run Clean-up: Saturday, April 11th at 8:30 is date of the annual White River / Pleasant Run cleanup. This is a great time to give back to the greenways that add so much value to our neighborhoods. Supplies are provided, so come by and pitch in a hand to help beautify the area. To sign up, go to http://www.greenwaysfoundation.org/wrCleanup/21stWRCleanup.html.

White River / Pleasant Run Clean-up

White River / Pleasant Run Clean-up
Saturday, April 11th
8:00 AM

is the date of the annual White River / Pleasant Run cleanup. This is a great time to give back to the greenways that add so much value to our neighborhoods. Supplies are provided, so come by and pitch in a hand to help beautify the area. To sign up, go to http://www.greenwaysfoundation.org/wrCleanup/21stWRCleanup.html.

Trash Pickup Issues

Cold Temps Create Trash Pickup Delays

Due to the extreme cold temperatures today, there will be NO residential trash, heavy trash, or curbside recycling service collection today, Friday, January 16. Weather permitting, all haulers will run Thursday routes tomorrow (Saturday), and will attempt to pick up some Friday trash as well if possible. While we will attempt to service as many residents as possible, we will most likely not be able to get to all Thursday and Friday routes on Saturday. All stops that are not picked up this week will receive a double pickup next week.

Moving forward, if you receive calls next week regarding missed Thursday or Friday routes from this week, please let the residents know that they will be eligible for double pickup next week on their collection day (remembering that we are running one day behind due to MLK Jr. Day). We will not send trucks back for missed Thursday/Friday routes before the actual collection day.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thanks for your cooperation. We really appreciate all your help in getting the word out to our residents.

Shawn

Weather Related Trash Pickup Delay

Weather Related Trash Pickup Delay

Please note the weather related trash pick up information below. Due to the extreme cold, we are not going to have trash pick ups today. So for those of you that have pick ups today (Thursday), it may be tomorrow before the pick ups will occur. Consequently, everything will be pushed back a day or two, depending on the weather. DPW will evaluate the status of tomorrow’s (Friday) pick ups tomorrow morning.

Also, as an additional reminder, there will be no scheduled trash pick up this coming Monday, due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, which may push things back another day.

I appreciate your patience, and am confident that you understand that it is in the best interest of the workers that we are not sending them out in weather like this.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me either via e-mail or by phone. My office # is listed below. Thank you!

Take care (and keep warm!) to all,

Dennis G. Papenmeier
Neighborhood Liaison
Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services
Gregory A Ballard, Mayor
2160 City-County Building
200 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 327-5595
(317) 327-5424

No Trash Pickup on Jan. 19

Trash Collection on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This is a reminder that there will be NO Residential trash, Heavy trash, or Curbside recycling service on Monday, January 19th in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All routes will run one day behind for the entire week, meaning that Monday routes will be picked up on Tuesday, and so on, through Friday routes being picked up on Saturday (01/24). All routes will return to normal schedules on Monday, January 26.

Any help you can offer in getting this word out to the public is greatly appreciated. As always, please let me know if you have any questions, or need additional information. Thanks for your support.

Shawn Brock
Assistant Administrator
Solid Waste Contracts
City of Indianapolis

Holiday Trash Schedule

Holiday Trash Schedule

Good morning everyone, this is your friendly reminder that there will be NO Residential or Heavy Trash collection or Curbside Recycling collection next Thursday, December 25th, in observance of the Christmas holiday. There will also be NO Residential or Heavy Trash collection or Curbside Recycling collection on Thursday, January 1st in observance of New Year’s Day. All Thursday routes for both weeks will be picked up on Friday (12/26 and 01/02), with Friday routes being picked up on Saturdays (12/27 and 01/03) for the next two weeks. Trash schedules will return to normal on Monday, January 5. Any assistance you can offer in getting this word out to the public is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Shawn

Shawn Brock
Assistant Administrator
Solid Waste Contracts
City of Indianapolis
317.327.2779
smbrock@indygov.org

Thanksgiving Week Trash Collection

Thanksgiving Week Trash Collection

Good morning everyone, this is your friendly reminder that there will be NO Residential or Heavy Trash collection or Curbside Recycling collection next Thursday, November 27, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. All Thursday routes will be picked up on Friday 11/28, with Friday routes being picked up on Saturday 11/29. Trash schedules will return to normal on Monday, December 1.Any assistance you can offer in getting this word out to the public is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Shawn Brock
Assistant Administrator
Solid Waste Contracts
City of Indianapolis
317.327.2779
smbrock@indygov.org

Leaf Pickup Season

Leaf Season Begins in Marion County

The City of Indianapolis will soon begin collecting fallen leaves throughout Marion County. Last year, more than 13.5 million pounds of leaves were collected during the annual leaf collection program.

From Monday, November 10th through Friday, December 5th, up to 40 bag items will be picked up each week, free of charge. No more than 10 items may be regular household trash. For example, in a hand collection area, a resident may set out 2 bags of trash and up to 38 bags of leaves. Or, 8 bags of trash and up to 32 bags of leaves. For 96-gallon cart collection areas, all leaves must be bagged and positioned at least 3 feet away from the cart in order to allow DPW trucks to continue to service the cart.

To ensure a successful collection effort, Indianapolis residents are asked to follow these simple guidelines:
•Place leaves in plastic or paper bags
•Place leaf bags out by 7 a.m. on your regular trash day
•Clearly identify and separate bags of leaves from regular trash (Place them on opposite sides of the driveway, place in different colored bags, or use different color tie wraps)

Residents should take special care to ensure that sewer inlets and drainage pipes are kept clear of leaves and debris to avoid serious drainage and flooding problems.

Because leaves can be recycled into a useful end product, DPW composts collected leaves and makes them available to the public free of charge. Compost can be used as a soil conditioner, potting soil or mulch. Using compost improves soil aeration, drainage and nutrient exchange – improving the health of lawns and helping gardens grow. Free compost from last year’s program may now be available at the Southside Landfill, 2577 S. Kentucky Ave; 317.247.6808.

As a reminder, it is illegal to burn leaves in Marion County. Smoke from burning leaves pollutes the air with many harmful particles and is hazardous to young children and people with heart and lung disease.

For further information please call the Mayor’s Action Center at 327.4622 or visit www.indygov.org/eGov/City/DPW/Residential/home.htm.

Fallen Tree Limbs

DPW Says Cut & Bundle Fallen Tree Limbs

In response to the weather over the weekend, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works is asking residents to cut and bundle fallen tree limbs into three-foot bundles and set them on the curb for their normal heavy trash pickup.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns!

Thanks!


Kit Werbe
Public Information Officer
Indianapolis Department of Public Works
City County Building
200 E. Washington St., Ste. 2460
Indianapolis, IN 46204-3357
Office: (317) 327-4669
Cell: (317) 223-1375
kwerbe@indygov.org

Labor Day Trash Pickup Schedule

Labor Day Trash Pickup Schedule

This is just a friendly reminder that there will be NO residential trash service, heavy trash, or curbside recycling collection on Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day. All solid waste services will run one day late for the entire week. Monday’s trash, heavy trash and curbside recycling will be picked up on Tuesday, Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and so on, ending with Friday’s routes being run on Saturday. All routes will return to normal schedules on Monday September 8.

Holiday Trash Schedule

No Trash Pickups on July 4th

This is a friendly reminder to all of you that there will be NO RESIDENTIAL TRASH, HEAVY TRASH, or CURBSIDE RECYCLING SERVICE on Friday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. All Friday routes will be run on Saturday, July 5th. All schedules will return to normal on Monday, July 7th.

Any assistance you can offer in getting this information to the public is greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in advance for your support.

Shawn Brock
Assistant Administrator
Solid Waste Contracts
City of Indianapolis
317.327.2779
smbrock@indygov.org

Public Space Committee

Pleasant Run Cleanup
A Public Space Project

Dear SE Side Neighborhood Leaders,

Thanks for helping to spread the word regarding the upcoming Pleasant Run Cleanup. It is Saturday, July 12th from 8:00 to 11:00 am. We are meeting at Pleasant Run Parkway North and Prospect Street. Gloves, bags, donuts and water will be provided. Bring your family and friends...together we can make the S.E. neighborhood a more beautiful place! For more info, contact David at 634-5079 x109.

Also, anyone is invited to attend the monthly Public Space meetings, which are at SEND Headquarters on 1030 Orange Street at 12:00 pm on the first Tuesdays of the month. We'd love more community input on how to accomplish all of the exciting goals we have before us.

Jeff Miller, Public Space Chairperson

Storm Damage Assistance

DAVVIS
Donations and Volunteers
Virtual Inventory System

Douglas Hairston, Director of the Front Porch Alliance, has suggested registering for storm assistance through the website at DAVVIS or by calling 1-866-679-4631 where:

No cost volunteer resources are available to help cut up tree debris and move it to the curb this week. DPW will remove tree debris cut into pieces not larger than 4 feet long and place along the curb until Friday, June 13. You will need to indicate how many trees, approximate sizes, and whether the tree is on or against a building or not. Once registered, you will be contacted to determine a time for the volunteers to be in your area. An adult must be home while the teams are working on your property.

No Heavy Trash Pickup

Heavy Trash Pickup Delayed

I was asked by DPW to pass on that Heavy Trash in DPW districts only will not be picked up today. All DPW Heavy Trash trucks are working cleanup detail from the tornado and will be unavailable to run their normal routes today. All normal HT routes will be caught up as soon as possible once the tornado cleanup is complete. Thanks for your patience. If you have any questions, please contact Marlon Wright at 327.2291.

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Trash Schedule for Memorial Day

No Trash Service on May 26

This is just a friendly reminder that there will be NO residential trash service, heavy trash, or curbside recycling collection on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. All solid waste services will run one day late for the entire week. Monday’s trash, heavy trash and curbside recycling will be picked up on Tuesday, Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and so on, ending with Friday’s routes being run on Saturday. All routes will return to normal schedules on Monday June 2.

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Update on Stacy Park Cleanup

"Friends of Historic Fountain Square"
has joined forces with FACT, becoming

"Friends & FACT"


They will be working on the 10th Annual Stacy Park cleanup and flower planting on
Saturday, May 10^th from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

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