by Krystal Paco

Guam - Guam Solid Waste Authority customers now have a new service available them starting Wednesday. The Bulky and Metallic Collection Program gives good standing customers one free pickup for the remaining months of 2011 and up to two free pickups per year starting 2012.

Starting Wednesday, GSWA customers can look forward to a new service that collects bulky materials such as box springs, mattresses, sofas, and metallic items like hot water heaters, washing machines, and refrigerators. According to solid waste administrator Linda Ibanez, customers who are current with their payments may receive up to two free pick-ups per year and additional pick-ups will cost $25 each. For the remainder of 2011, customers are limited to one free pick-up of five items maximum.

"Some customers do not have the luxury of a pick-up to haul it to the recycling companies," said Ibanez. "We're giving that option to the customers and also, it's a recycling incentive for those white goods."

But not everyone is excited about the Bulky and Metallic Collection Program. Vice Mayor of Sinajana Robert Hoffman, who heads the Mayors Council of Guam's Islandwide Abandoned Vehicle Cleanup effort, has his doubts about the program. "This probably could've been better thought out," he expressed. "We really don't feel that the customers who do or who are participating in the program do have enough material to actually make that a worthwhile project."

Hoffman also has concerns about the size of the knuckle boom truck that will be making the pickups, saying, "The amount of clearance that is need to pick up the items is about I think twenty feet or more; in that case most of these people who put out at the curbside these trucks need to park opposite to extend the boom out to pick it up and crush it. And I just don't see some of the roads being that wide on this island," he shared.

Despite Hoffman's doubts, Ibanez says that GSWA customers are already flooding their phone lines to make appointments for bulky material pickups at their residences. "We're limiting it to ten customers a day for us to do an assessment to get in there, how quickly they can remove those items. We ask the customers to make sure those items meet the requirements in the bulky waste materials - we won't pick up anything more than five items, we won't be taking any banned items - which is green waste, household trash and construction debris - if those are found for pickup we will leave it behind with a violation tag of the reason why we did not pick up these banned item materials," she said.

Starting tomorrow this knuckle boom truck will make its first pickup in the village of Mangilao. To schedule your solid waste materials pickup, call solid waste customer service at 646-3111.