Helping garbage trucks and crews be safe during the winter
MARQUETTE COUNTY — With the communities of the U.P. now in the winter months it is important to know what to do with curbside garbage. It’s also important to understand how to make it easily accessible and safe for crews to pick the waste up.
When taking trash bins outside to the curbside during the winter it is important to make sure it doesn’t end up in the road. It’s also helpful to clear a space for these bins if you do not have a driveway. This will not only protect the crew’s picking up the trash but it can also reduce waste falling into the road causing further problems.
“One of the best ways to help is if you don’t have a driveway then have a spot cleared out for us,” explained Gordon Lemere, Co-Owner of North Country Disposal. “So have a spot for your garbage cans and recycling containers. This is so we can get at it easily and not have to trudge through snow or go over snow banks. If it is at the end of a drive way then just have it tucked in a little bit so we don’t have to be in the road way while we are doing our work.”
It is also important to continue to be vigilant when driving by garbage trucks and their crews in the winter time. This is due to icy road conditions that have resulted in accidents in past. It is also vital to give these crews space while passing them on the roads.
“Give us plenty of room,” said Lemere. “Give us lots of room, slow down and give us lots of room. Treat us like an emergency vehicle almost. So we have room to do our work and do it safely so no one gets hurt.”
Remember to continue to keep an eye for any individual working on road ways and be courtesy to all you pass on the road.