Wednesday, October 10, 2012

one arm bandit could save town money on sanitation



The Greenburgh Town Board is considering the possibility of purchasing a ONE ARMED BANDIT -- a new, more efficient garbage truck that uses one employee instead of three to pick up garbage. As employees in the sanitation department retire the workforce would shrink. Communities that have purhased the truck report faster service and fewer workers compensation claims by injured public works employees. The City of White Plains has been using these vehicles. The Town of Harrison is also interested in the truck.
The “One-Armed Bandit” is an automated refuse collection truck that has the capacity of auto-loading refuse containers three to four times the size of a regular garbage can. It also is capable of making 700 to 1,200 stops per route with a single operator, “all while increasing efficiency for the residents and safety for the operators,” said a report on the system.
When we purchase the truck the town will provide residents with a free, special large container that can be secured by the remote arm on the garbage truck. On collection days, residents will place the container in the street and with a space of four feet between the container and parked vehicles, mailbox, trees or other obstacles. The trash truck driver can then safely pick-up and place back the container in the same location. The automated trash collection program has proven to work well in all types of weather including snow and rain and containers can withstand winds of up to 45 miles per hours.
The program is expected to be less costly than the current system where employees manually place the refuse in the rear loading packer trucks. Funding for the first one arm bandit will be included in the proposed 2013 capital budget, which will be released at the end of October. If the Town Board approves the request, the truck could be operating in the town towards the end of 2013 or early in 2014. We will test the truck on some streets initially - and if we like the truck will purchase additional trucks in future years.


Three time Grammy-award winning bassist John Patitucci leads an stellar band on October 13th, 2012 at 4:00 pm in a jazz concert to benefit THE YONKERS SHARING COMMUNITY and HASTINGS HELPS THE HUNGRY, two local organizations which provide meals to the homeless. Other musicians include pianist Gerald Clayton, saxophonist John Ellis, drummer Paolo Orlandi, percussionist Rogerio Boccato and gospel vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd. There will also be a silent auction and Meet the Musicians reception. All proceeds benefit the two charities. Tickets are $20 and available at the door or in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/268927
Paul Feiner

2 comments:

GOD said...

Are you kidding? Right now, as it stands,because we no longer have pickup other than the curb and my property is on an incline on a narrow street, I have to wait until morning to place my cans in the street for pickup otherwise they will roll over at night. Since pickup schedules have changed I must get out there very very early otherwise I miss the pick up. I constantly chase the truck. There is no way I have room for a can the size of those required for this type of new truck without placing it IN THE LEVEL STREET. I have viewed every video available on the internet with this truck in use. Every street is level, has no cars parked at the curbs and has a substantial curb or sidewalk. There is no way that this truck will work on the majority of our properties. I had to pick up all of my tipped leaf bags this morning. I HAVE NO ROOM ON FLAT LAND! I'm sick to death of your bright ideas that do nothing but cause me more work, more money. I used to love living here and now I can't wait to leave. Quality of live has diminished 10 fold in the past decade because of YOU.You are completely out of touch with the real world.

GOD said...
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