Trash:
Nothing
changes
until May 1
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Casella Waste Inc. said April 17 that there have been a “couple hiccups” in the changeover to the town’s new trash program, a frustrating one with the app moving trash pickup days to this week.
Casella’s Marc Morgan, Strategic Account Manager, Municipal Services, said the schedule in the app was not supposed to change until May 1.
“Nothing changes until May 1,” he said.
Understandably, with any new program, there are hiccups and glitches that need to be ironed out.
The company managing the Casella app knows about the “too early” problem and is fixing it. Morgan anticipated it will be fixed by the end of last week.
There was even confusion with the folks at the other end of the phone number for service: 860-423-4527. It will all get ironed out, Morgan said.
In the meantime, “nothing changes until May 1”.
A particular app “hiccup” is a Friday schedule.
Morgan said that currently the collection schedule in Putnam is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
In an effort to keep Fridays clear for schedule changes due to holidays/weather, the schedule will change, May 1, to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This way, if an additional day is needed for pickups, due to holidays or weather, it would be on Friday, not Saturday as it is now. Recycling pickup will be every other week.
The customers who ordinarily have trash picked up on Friday will see their pick-up day moved to Wednesday or Thursday. Check the app later.
“There are a couple hiccups,” Morgan said. “These are huge changes, big changes and we recognize that.” All will be corrected by May 1.
In the meantime, nothing changes until May 1.
Waste Support Systems distributed approximately 5,000 trash and recycle carts (they are carts, not bins) last week.
Morgan, asked what people should do if they didn’t get their cart, etc., suggested using the functional email button on the app to connect with Casella for answers. The service phone number is 860-423-4527.
Cart Details
Same ole. Same ole trash routine until May 1. Put your trash in a bag, put a sticker on the bag and put the bag in your usual trash can.
Nothing changes until May 1.
After May 1, Casella will be using automated side arm trash trucks to pick up Casella trash carts and recycle carts. Therefore there will be no pickups of trash or recycle for residents not in the new program, nor for trash in a bag with a sticker on it placed on the ground.
The stickers will no longer be used after June 30. Town officials said there is no “definitive date yet”, but they anticipate the town will probably stop selling stickers to the vendors June 1.
Cart Placement:
Carts should be placed on a flat surface at least 3 feet apart, with the front facing the road. For the arm to swing the trash can to the top of the truck there should be 10 to 12 feet of clearance from tree branches, etc. Morgan said many people put the trash cart on one side of the driveway and the recycle cart on the other side of the driveway. The carts should be clear of snow, landscaping, mail boxes and utility poles.
The carts delivered this week have a serial number printed on them and an RFID tag. The trash truck driver will have a tablet that shows his stops. If the wrong cart or too many carts are out — not in line with what the tablet says — the driver will notify dispatch and a cart crew will be sent out.
What About the Trash Workers?
Casella is switching to automated side arm trucks for trash pickup. There will be no more workers hanging off the back of the trucks. Asked what will happen to all those workers, Morgan said “No one is losing their job. They will shift to other duties or other locations.”
What About Bulky Waste?
Bulky waste had been handled with stickers for decades. You put a sticker on a bed frame and put it out for collection, said Highway Superintendent Travis Sirrine.
Beginning May 1 bulky waste will no longer be picked up curbside. The town’s Bulky Waste Collection will be May 18 at the Putnam Armory; and Aug. 17and Oct. 26 at the Putnam Middle School. No charge — you just need to show residency. Sirrine had said in January the town is looking into a transfer station that would take all waste except household garbage, but that’s sometime, perhaps, in the future. He said he has advised folks with some types of waste (he gave the example of chunks of drywall) to call the towns of Brooklyn, Killingly or Woodstock to inquire about using their transfer station. Ask if a temporary permit is possible.
Morgan’s advice to residents is “just take a deep breath. It’s all centered on May 1.” Nothing changes until May 1.

.