Bristol’s New Trash Pickup Policy Leaves Residents Frustrated

Bristol, Tennessee – The City of Bristol, Tennessee has recently put in place a new trash pickup policy that has left many residents feeling quite unhappy and frustrated. This change has sparked a lot of conversations and brought some unexpected challenges for the people living in this community.

Under the new policy, residents now need to make an appointment for their brush and bulk trash items to be picked up. This is a significant shift from how trash collection used to operate. Previously, all trash, including bulk items and brush, would be picked up on the same day as the regular trash collection.

The Director of Community Relations for the City of Bristol, Jon Luttrell explained, “Now we’re requesting our residents to make an appointment to have those items picked up. Whereas previously they would’ve just been picked up on the same day as the regular trash.”

This policy adjustment aimed to make the process more time and cost-efficient for the city. According to Luttrell, the previous system resulted in a “significant amount of time and fuel and mileage on those collection vehicles.” However, it seems that not everyone agrees with this rationale.

Residents like Todd Currin have found the new system to be more of a hassle than a help. “Now we come out Monday afternoon, the trash can is empty but your brush and anything you put to the road is still there if you did not make this phone call,” stated Currin.

For many residents, especially the elderly, having to make an appointment to get their trash picked up has been seen as an inconvenience. Elderly people who don’t use social media or the internet often find it challenging to call and schedule an appointment. According to Currin, “Older residents might be reluctant to do things like that, especially when we’ve been used to having them pick it up.”

Moreover, residents have noticed an increase in piles of brush and bulk items along the sides of the roads, leading to concerns about the cleanliness and appearance of their neighborhoods. Charles Burroughs, another resident, mentioned, “We don’t mind going online to fill out the form, but what irks me is sometimes it’s like Todd might have stuff out here, I may have stuff out there, I didn’t call and they just walk right past me.”

Many in the community share a common goal: to keep their neighborhoods looking nice. Dale Thomas, a resident of Bristol, stated, “We want to keep it clean. We try to do our part to keep our place clean, and we think the city should take care of what they’ve been taking care of for the last several years.”

For those who need to schedule a trash pickup, it’s possible to do so two days in advance either online at www.bristoltn.org/brushandbulk or by calling (423) 989-5567.

City leaders maintain that this change is meant to help keep costs low for everyone involved. According to Luttrell, “We really just want to try to provide the services that we’ve always provided without increased cost to the consumer, and the scheduling policy was one way to achieve that.”

As Bristol residents continue to get used to this new system, it remains to be seen if further adjustments will be made to address their concerns and make trash collection as smooth as it used to be.

Stay connected to see how this situation evolves and whether any alterations to the policy will be considered to better meet the community’s needs.