SAN ANTONIO – A new trash pickup program that launched in the Camelot II neighborhood three weeks ago is earning rave reviews from residents.
Thanks to an agreement between the city of San Antonio and Bexar County, residents of the community outside the city limits off Montgomery Road have regular mandated curbside trash pickup service for the first time in decades.
The neighborhood had become notorious for being overrun by trash and stray animals. However, some people said that all seems like just a bad memory now.
"I have noticed a difference. The neighborhood has been really clean and mostly everybody has been putting out their trash,” said Crystal Paschall, who lives in Camelot II. "The alleyways, the streets -- it looks a whole lot better."
Paschall said she is delighted to have been offered this opportunity. Like city residents, people in Camelot II pay a fee for the service, which is added on to their CPS Energy bills.
Tiffany Edmonds, a spokeswoman for the city’s Solid Waste Department, said the admiration is mutual. She said most residents are doing a good job of following the rules.
“They are getting used to the services. Some residents are taking advantage of the opportunity to put everything into their brown carts," she said. “We're hearing that they're enjoying the service, that it's making a change in the neighborhood and that they hope that it continues to make a change for them."
As the trash trucks made their rounds early Monday morning, most people had complied with the rules by putting their trash bags into the containers rather than on the ground. However, it appeared there may be a bit of a learning curve for some.
City garbage crews had to bypass items left at the curb that did not belong in the trash, including cans of paint.
Based on what Edmonds said, there is more learning to come. The city plans to introduce recycling to the neighborhood beginning some time in January.