McDonald proposes new limit on garbage pickup

Denise Cardinal

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 1997 | 9:06 a.m.

Councilman Michael McDonald says the lurching and scraping and clanging of garbage trucks leave many of his constituents sleepless in Las Vegas.

Monday, he moved to shut down Silver State Disposal Service earlier in the evenings so people can get their shut-eye.

The cutoff for residential pickups would be 10 p.m. under McDonald's measure. Now, it's midnight. The starting time of 6 a.m. would be unchanged. The bill does not address commercial pickups, which are allowed from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"There are children sleeping who need to go to school in the morning," said McDonald, who has heard from citizens in his ward that residential pickup sometimes takes place at 1 and 2 a.m. "I've talked to people in Boulder City and Henderson, and they say that their garbage is never picked up that late."

Silver State officials say the hours are so long out of necessity. Cutting two hours off would force the company to buy more trucks, they say. With each truck costing more than $100,000, that could cost the company millions, resulting in rate increases for consumers, they say.

The officials said many of the complaints come from residents who live near commercial areas -- strip malls and office complexes. And because the ordinance doesn't change the pickup times for commercial garbage, those same residents will still be complaining, they said.

The proposed ordinance will be reviewed by a recommending committee Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. in the city manager's chambers.