Tuscaloosa transitioning to automated garbage trucks

TUSCALOOSA, AL (WBRC) - People in Tuscaloosa will soon see a new type of truck coming down their street on garbage collection day.

The City of Tuscaloosa is making the shift to automated garbage trucks. The trucks have an apparatus that picks up carts, dumps them and then places them back down. With the automated trucks, only a driver is needed, with no sanitation workers on the back of the truck.

City of Tuscaloosa Environmental Educator Ashley Chambers says sanitation workers on the back of garbage trucks face job hazards, and the automated trucks reduce risks. However, she says no employees will lose their jobs.

''Crew members who have worked on the back of trucks, they will be utilized in new capacities, whether that be working in the recycling plant or transferring  over to a new trash division," Chamber said.

Tuscaloosa garbage truck operator Damian Stockdale says he is glad to make the transition. Stockdale says oncoming vehicles pose a hazard to crews on the back on the truck, and he is constantly watching to make sure workers are safe.

"I have to look out of both sides of the truck, make sure both guys get on and off the truck, and try to make sure to straddle the line and slow down the traffic on both sides," Stockdale said.

"Not having two guys on the back makes it a whole lot safer."

Chambers says the City has two automated trucks now, and plans to add four more over the next couple of years, eventually using only the automated
trucks. She says citizens will receive information through advertising and marketing materials on how best to position their carts for the new trucks.

"We do ask our citizens to be very mindful about where they place their garbage cart now. We're asking that they allow a three-foot buffer on either side of the garbage cart, and that allows the claw to grab the cart without knocking anything else over or bumping into a car."

Chambers also says customers should not place anything on top of their carts. The lid should be closed and the cart faced toward the road.  

There will be no changes to scheduled garbage and recycling collection days.

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