Waste Collection

Residential Containers

It’s the responsibility of the occupant to provide an adequate number of proper containers for residential waste collection.

Size & Material

Residential containers shall be portable receptacles of standard galvanized metal, plastic or fiberglass with watertight construction with tight fitting covers and handles. The size of the receptacles shall not be less than 10-gallons or more than 33-gallons capacity.

Plastic Bags

It is not necessary to put garbage in a plastic bag, but we encourage you to do this, both to help the collectors and ease your job of keeping the container clean. When garbage is in a plastic bag, please remember to put it inside the container so dogs or other animals won’t rip the bag and scatter the garbage in your yard. Loose garbage outside of the container will not be picked up.

Limits

Under no circumstances will the town pick up more than three containers from any residence at any one stop.

Container Location

• Please locate containers at the rear or side of your house or next to the street where the collector can easily get to and empty the containers.
• If you put the container inside a small fence, please make sure it has a door or gate on the side so the collector can safely remove the container horizontally.
• Garbage will be picked up at only one (1) location at each residence.
• If you have a dog, please put the garbage container where the dog will not attack or threaten the collector.

Special Requests

• If you have a container that you do not want to have emptied, please mark it clearly.
• Residents may request special pick-ups other than regular route times which shall be picked up at the convenience of the Public Works Department and a charge of $50 shall be charged to the resident per partial or full flatbed truckload.

Recycling

• Service provided by Waste Industries
• Recycling materials collected in blue 95-gallon can
• Recycling materials can be comingled (paper, glass, plastic, etc.)
• Cans are emptied every other week

Days & Times

Recycle pick-up occurs every other Thursday.
Place recycling bin curbside before 6 a.m. on pickup day.

Recycle These Materials

• Aluminum and metal cans
• Glass - clear, green and brown
• Magazines (slick, shiny pages not over 1/4 inch thick)
• Mixed paper (copy paper, notebook paper, office paper and computer paper)
• Newspapers with inserts
• Paper (junk mail, shoe boxes, soap boxes, and cereal boxes)
• Plastic bottles with a neck (except motor oil and pesticides)

Items Not Collected

 
The Town will not collect:

• Any hazardous material such as batteries, oil, paint, paint thinner, gas or chemicals
• Recyclable corrugated cardboard
• Tires

More Information

Check out more information on recycling and other waste collection outside of the Benson Town Limits.

Sticks and Limbs

• Service provided by a local landscaper, CLS, Inc.
• Loose collection of large limbs and branches: no limbs will be picked up unless they have been cut into lengths of 4-feet or less and shall be no larger than 4-inches in diameter (distance through the limb). Limbs from 4-inches to 10-inches in diameter will be accepted if in lengths of 2-feet or less.
• Items must be neatly placed between the sidewalk and the street, not in the gutter or roadside ditch.

Clippings and Yard Waste

• Service provided by Waste Industries.
• Grass clippings, flower materials, pine cones, pine straw, leaves, etc.
• Yard waste collected in green 95-gallon can.

Seasonal Leaf Collection

 

• Service provided from November 1 to February 1.
• Leaves must be placed along the edge of the street, not in the road, and should be free of sticks, rocks, and other debris.
• It takes approximately eight-hours to sweep 25% of the Town.
• The Town is divided into four sections and serviced Tuesday to Friday.

Other Guidelines

• No leaves or trash shall be burned in street gutters or roadside ditches.
• The town will not collect trees, limbs and general debris left from any land clearing operations.
• The town will not collect cuttings left by hired tree surgeons or any person hired to cut or trim trees.