Cleburne Sanitation will now proactively collect the bulk trash residents set outside of the monthly free collection in an effort to reduce violations that hinder neighborhood appearance and can hazard public health and safety.

City Council approved the policy change at its Aug. 14, 2018, meeting. Previously, if a resident set bulk trash in front of his or her home outside of the free pickup week, he or she would have to schedule a $30 out-of-cycle removal or face the possibility of Code Compliance violations. In this change, the sanitation team will collect out-of-cycle bulk trash it discovers and will apply a $30 charge to the resident’s utility bill.

“This is a targeted strategy to deal with violators that make our city look bad.” Mayor Scott Cain said. “We want residents to take pride in their neighborhoods and promote public wellbeing and safety and this program will help us all keep Cleburne beautiful.”

Each residence receives a free bulk trash pickup on a monthly schedule. For example, homes in Zone 1 have free bulk removal on the week of the first Monday of each month, Zone 2 on the following week, and so on through five zones. Bulk trash must be set out on the Monday of that week. If the city discovers a resident places bulk trash outside of his or her free bulk removal, sanitation crews will deliver a minimum 24-hour notice to remind the resident about the free pickup before removing any out-of-cycle trash. Those that wish to avoid the $30 charge must remove the trash from the public right-of-way and set it for collection during the assigned day. Residents can also drop off trash to the transfer station once a month and still call and schedule an out-of-cycle pickup.

Those with questions can contact the Sanitation Office by calling 817-641-2236. For more information about bulk pickup and the scheduled zones visit Cleburne.net.