Raleigh underground waste collection system removed

Raleigh, North Carolina, began a pilot program in June testing an underground waste collection system located downtown. Prior to the underground system, traditional rolling carts were used to collect waste and recycling. Many older streets in Raleigh do not have alleyways, so all carts had to be left on the sidewalks, creating obstacles for pedestrians walking past as well as odor issues.

In an effort to remedy these issues, the city installed an underground waste collection system with six containers from Ontario, Canada-based Molok North America to collect trash, mixed recycling and cardboard.

Each of the semi-underground Molok containers held the equivalent of approximately 20 carts, which the city hoped would provide cost savings and reduce environmental impacts.

CBS 17 reports that city leaders hoped the system would remove the obstacles presented by the rolling carts as well as reduce the odor from the trash, but the system has not accomplished its goal. Instead, the location and the ramifications of instituting the underground waste containers elicited concern from area stakeholders.

“I think we had an oversight [in terms of not] reaching out to some key stakeholders and we’ve received some concerns from them,” says Stan Joseph, Raleigh’s solid waste director. “Potentially vermin could be attracted to [the] smell, although we did explore ways to monitor and measure those types of impacts.”

By the end of August, the underground waste system will be removed and rolling carts will once again replace it, CBS 17 reports.