Chapel Hill to begin enforcing trash roll-cart regulations

Chapel Hill is enforcing its trash roll-cart regulations for the first time, issuing 37 citations for left-out carts since the program began Sept. 26.

Citations in Pine Knolls and Northside neighborhoods started on Sept. 28 and carry a fine of up to $25 per day.

The town’s regulations call for roll-carts to be placed at the curb no later than 6 a.m. on collection day and that they are removed before 7 p.m. the same day.

The pilot program is designed to improve the timeliness of roll-cart removal from the roads, said Loryn Clark, Chapel Hill housing and neighborhood services manager.

She said the new program, which is limited to the two neighborhoods, could expand to surrounding areas of Chapel Hill depending on the program’s success and residents’ feedback.

The program was formed as a response to homeowner complaints about roll-carts detracting from the look of residential areas.

“It’s an issue we’ve heard from a lot of residents,” Clark said.

“Trash was being left out and negatively affecting the appearance of the neighborhood.”

Compliance has not been regulated until now. Residents who do not pay or appeal citations within 30 days could face a daily fine of $25.

“We as a town have improved our tracking program for these fines,” Clark said.

“It isn’t a change at all to how we practice trash collecting. We just want to deal with these violations and better handle unpaid fines.”

Resident complaints prior to the program’s introduction included hazardous roll-carts in the road, trash left out excessively past the regulated time and unsightly items left outside roll-carts.

“All kinds of things get put out there, not just trash,” said Velma Perry, a Northside resident.

“One time I saw beds out there for a week. It gets left in the street, and somebody is going to get hurt.”

Perry said she welcomes the pilot program and its benefits for the neighborhoods.

But she is concerned that the senior citizens like herself may have difficulty meeting the time restraints.

“I’m in no position to drag it out to the road myself,” she said.

“If you contact the trash collection service they will pick it up for you, but I don’t think a lot of people know to do that.”

Christie Pendergraft, another senior resident of Northside, said the program is long overdue and should prevent residents from repeatedly leaving roll-carts out.

“If you want my vote, I think it’s fine,” she said. “Carts are left in the street for too long.

“There is a law, and we have to abide by it.”

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