Automated trash trucks get rough start in Florida

Quimby Mug Bayou Florida Headshot
Updated Jan 21, 2016
After distributing 400,000 refuse carts for its new automated waste trucks, Florida’s Orange County Solid Waste Division continues to struggle with its new system.After distributing 400,000 refuse carts for its new automated waste trucks, Florida’s Orange County Solid Waste Division continues to struggle with its new system.

New automated trash trucks in south Florida got off to a rough start with reports of long delays and a lamppost being uprooted by a truck’s mechanical arm.

Some residents in unincorporated Orange County near Orlando have waited up to four days for the new trucks to pick up the garbage and recyclables, wesh.com reports.

To help alleviate delays, Orange County’s Solid Waste Division put rental trucks to work on routes this week. The county expects to be caught up with trash pick-ups by the end of the month.

The county says the delays are mostly owed to residents who are not accustomed to properly positioning their new carts for pick-up by the trucks’ automated, hydraulic lift.

However, wesh.com reports that drivers also appear to be having some challenges too. Video posted on wesh.com shows a truck’s hydraulic arm uprooting a lamppost.

The county distributed 400,000 carts in preparation for its new automated trash service, which began Jan. 1. Each resident was given two carts: one for recyclables, such as aluminum and plastic, and the other for common household garbage.

Orange County informed residents that each 95-gallon cart has to have a three-foot buffer for the truck’s mechanical arm. The handles on the carts must also face the house when left on the curb for pick-up.