07-05-2025
Sanitation department prepares for Jamestown's annual cleanup week
May 7—JAMESTOWN — The city of Jamestown's Sanitation and Solid Waste Department is making preparations for Residential Curbside Cleanup Week on Monday through Saturday, May 12-17, according to Shawn O'Neill, sanitation foreman.
"We have to get bids for the extra loaders that we use to do the cleanup," he said.
O'Neill said his department gets bids for rental equipment.
"We don't have a lot of loaders," he said.
O'Neill said he is also working on getting truck drivers for cleanup week.
"We use the payloaders and the city street department trucks," he said. "We also try to run two roll-off trucks — one for avenues and one for streets."
O'Neill said every city department helps with Residential Curbside Cleanup Week. He also said screened James River Correctional Center inmates also help.
"Without the other departments and the tireless work they do behind the scenes and without the state (inmates), we probably wouldn't be able to do citywide cleanup," he said.
Last year, crews picked up 180 tons of material during cleanup week.
The following is the schedule when items will be picked up during cleanup week:
* Monday, May 12: southeast
* Tuesday, May 13: southwest
* Wednesday, May 14: northwest
* Thursday, May 15: northeast
Materials must be out by 7 a.m. for the area's cleanup day. The materials should be placed for collection on the roadway close to the curb or shoulder as possible.
O'Neill said piles should be no larger than an 8-foot pickup box.
He said it is ideal for residents to place items and materials out for collection after 4 p.m. on the day before their collection. He also said many people also place items and materials out for collection the weekend before because they are not at work.
"But now I'm seeing before May or the last weekend in April I've seen people setting stuff out already," O'Neill said. "That's almost three to four weeks away. That's way too early."
During the council member's report at the Jamestown City Council meeting on Monday, May 5, City Councilman David Steele said the items should not be out on the streets right now. He said it could rain and the items can get wet, making it more difficult for the city workers during collection.
"I've also had some complaints of people saying that they're setting stuff out and someone else is adding to their pile," he said.
Items that are accepted during cleanup week include:
* materials in neat, separate piles of similar materials so crews can easily collect
* basic household items such as furniture, toys and mattresses
* small-scale building, remodeling, landscaping debris, lumber, carpet and paddling, wall board, tile, doors, windows, gutters, fencing, non-creosoted landscaping timbers and brick pavers
* wood, lumber, fencing and non-creosoted landscaping timbers, which should be broken apart and tied in bundles less than 4 feet long and weigh less than 50 pounds.
* carpeting and padding that must each be rolled, tied and no longer than 8 feet.
O'Neill said residents should either remove or pound the nails down on door and floor trim or lumber.
"We got a lot of pickers out there that have to pick it up by hand and then you have a lot of people moving around," he said. "It's easy to cut yourself, scratch or hit somebody else."
Items that are not accepted include: large quantities of clothing and linens or bags of any kind, cardboard, household garbage, yard waste, appliances, electronics, automotive products, vehicle parts, large-scale building or remodeling or construction debris, paint, solvents, thinners, primers, varnishes, stains or bio-medical waste.
O'Neill said residents are responsible to dispose of the items that don't get collected on their collection day. He said common items placed out for collection that are not picked up include tires, clothing, shoes and cardboard boxes.
City residents can take tires and automotive oil to the city baler/landfill. There may be a disposal charge for some of the items.
Clothing and shoes, if clean, can be donated to the Easter Seals Goodwill thrift store or other charitable organizations. If the clothes or shoes are not suitable, they can disposed of in the trash.
O'Neill said residents place items in the cardboard boxes to place out on the street.
"If you put something in the cardboard box that is dumpable out of there, we will dump that and we will leave the cardboard box," he said. "They will have to recycle it or put it in their regular trash."
Snow blowers, lawn mowers, propane tanks and metal gas cans can be taken to Gardeau Ameristeel, West End or the city baler/landfill. Drain liquids and gas; leave caps or valves open on the containers or tanks for safety reasons. Plastic gas containers with no liquids can be taken to the city baler/landfill.
Electronics, fluorescent mercury vapor light bulbs, newspaper, books, magazines, cardboard, aluminum and tin cans, most plastics and sorted glass can be taken to North Dakota Recycling & Sanitation. The items must be sorted.
Building/remodeling, construction and demolition debris, metals, paint, solvents, thinners, primers, varnishes and stains can be taken to the city baler/landfill. Liquids must be in original containers with readable labels.
To dispose of biomedical waste, contact Central Valley Health District, Jamestown Regional Medical Center or a local clinic or pharmacy for instructions.
During cleanup week only, the city baler/landfill will be open from 7 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, May 12-16, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 17. Each household can dispose of up to 500 pounds at no charge. Residents must show proof of residency in the city of Jamestown such as a utility bill.
For more information on residential curbside cleanup week, visit
.
