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Staff Photo by Allison Kwesell Jean Moore, with the City of Chattanooga Public Works Department, rakes brush from the side of the street near Bonny Oaks during mandatory brush removal.
The bucket of the brush truck is lowered toward 8-foot-long piles of pine logs sitting curbside, grabs them, then shovels them into the truck bed.
The operation is much like any other brush collection day in Chattanooga, but after Wednesday brush collection will change a bit.
"It will be more in order. It'll be a better operation," said George Deramus, city of Chattanooga crew supervisor senior.
On Wednesday, the city started taking calls for "Brush on Demand," a new service in which city residents must call 311 to have any wood pilings or grass clippings picked up. The new service replaces the old one in which trucks drove fixed routes across the city, picking up a particular area on a particular week.
Justin Holland, the city's sanitation manager, said the change was made to create more efficiency and save money.
"It prevents trucks from driving routes where brush was not put out," he said.
Eliminating that waste will translate to fuel savings in the long run and cost savings for the taxpayer, he said. Industrywide, on-demand pickup service usually translates to almost 20 percent in savings, Mr. Holland said, but he could not give an estimate on how much money the city is expecting to save.
On Wednesday, the city received 217 calls for brush pickup, officials said. When the on-demand service really gets cranking, city officials said, they expect 300 to 400 calls a day.
BRUSH GUIDELINES
* All brush or branches placed curbside should not exceed 4 feet wide, 4 feet in height and 6 feet in length.
* Small amounts -- 2 feet wide by 2 feet long -- should be put in the trash can.
* No items will be collected other than wood waste.
Source: City of Chattanooga
BY THE NUMBERS
* 400: Average number of calls expected per day for Brush On Demand service.
* 217: Number of calls received Wednesday.
* 40: Average amount of miles driven a day by brush trucks before Brush On Demand.
Source: City of Chattanooga
The city will use the same trucks for the collection. There also are specific guidelines that residents must follow for their brush piles.
One of the best things about on-demand pickup will be that the city now can target locations instead of searching for brush, Mr. Holland said.
"They don't have to drive block by block by block," he said.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
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