Fort Smith Department of Sanitation seeks service feedback

The Fort Smith Department of Sanitation (DOS) seeks feedback from citizens who have recently been converted from manual trash collection to the automated refuse collection service.

The automated service was recently expanded to 24 additional neighborhoods, adding 3,300 households to the automated collection routes.  The DOS now provides “same day service” for recyclables, yard waste, and automated refuse collection for 87.6% (23,031 of 26,272) of all households in the City of Fort Smith.

Automated collection is provided curbside with wheeled collection carts provided by the City. The curbside collection represents a change for the many households in the conversion area that previously received collection service in alleyways.

The Department of Sanitation will host an open-house style meeting for citizens in the conversion area to provide feedback on the automated collection service. The meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, at the Creekmore Community Center, 3201 S. M St.

Department staff will conduct a brief presentation and solicit public comments and questions. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.

In addition to this meeting, the Department will be mailing a survey to all households in the conversion area in order to gather information and feedback on the automated refuse collection service. The Department of Sanitation wants to know what residents think about the automated refuse collection program. The survey will be mailed following the public meeting to all 3,300 households in this year’s conversion area.

"We are continually looking for improvements that best serve the citizens of Fort Smith in the most efficient manner. The automated service is most efficient in terms of demands on manpower and equipment,” Baridi Nkokheli, DOS director, said in a statement. “We want to know what the community thinks as we move forward with this program.”

Residents are encouraged to provide feedback by attending the meeting and by completing the survey and returning the postage-paid self-addressed envelope by the specified date.