Waste Management delays pine needle collection until June in Incline Village
Bill Rozak / Tahoe Daily Tribune
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — In effort to limit exposure to COVID-19, Waste Management is delaying pine needle pick-up in Incline Village.
The original pick-up dates were supposed to be from April 27 – July 17 but WM is now hoping to move the start date to June 1 with the timeline still being 12 weeks long.
“This is unexpected and unplanned,” said Kendra Kostelecky Northern Nevada WM manager. “We don’t like it either.”
The decision was made with driver safety in mind. For the normal, weekly trash pick-up, drivers can use the truck arm to pick-up the cans, but for green waste, drivers must touch the bags.
Kostelecky said the drivers already have personal protective equipment with them but WM wants to limit their exposure as much as possible.
With fire season right around the corner, many homeowners are beginning to prepare their homes. So, WM is working with Incline Village General Improvement District to find a temporary solution so that homeowners don’t have to hold onto the pine needles.
In the meantime, homeowners can take their bags to the Incline Village Transfer Station at 1200 Sweetwater Road.
This is only for residents, not commercial customers, and it is only for green waste.
If customers bring their pine needles to the transfer station, the waste will be taken to the landfill but once the stickers go out, the waste will be given to Full Circle Compost.
For those customers who are nervous about going to the transfer station, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District announced during the Incline Village General Improvement District Board of Trustees meeting, that the fire district will pick up bags of pine needles for customers and take them to the transfer station.
Kostelecky said they are keeping an eye on the governor’s reopening strategy and will adjust their schedule based on his decisions and they will try to send out the pine needle collection stickers sooner than June 1 if possible.
Some residents are furious with WM’s decision and have started a petition called, “Waste Management needs to do their job!” on Change.org. So far, 35 residents have signed the petition.
To find updates, visit http://www.wm.com/location/nevada/northern-nevada/inclinevillage/index.jsp.
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