“Working Smarter to Improve the Quality of Life for Every Customer”

City of Tampa Department of Solid Waste & Environmental Program Management staff and personnel take great pride and pleasure in providing outstanding service delivery. Comprised with a staff of 51 employees, the Solid Waste Department Division of Residential Services provides refuse collection to roughly 50,000 households throughout the City of Tampa.

The Department currently uses two different methods of collection (manual and semi-automated) to provide refuse removal services. Manual collection requires the driver loader to physically lift and load containers into the body of the truck.

In order to reduce the amount of injuries sustained while working, the Department introduced semi-automated refuse collection in designated areas during the summer of 2002. Under this program, residents dispose of their refuse in 65-gallon or 95-gallon containers provided by the Solid Waste Department. On the scheduled collection day the driver operates a mechanical lifter which unloads the refuse from the container into the body of the truck.

In order to modernize the service delivery to the residents of Tampa, the Solid Waste Department will introduce the first fully refuse automated collection program in Hillsborough County during the Spring of 2005. Residents in participating communities will dispose of household waste in 95-gallon containers provided by the Department. When placed at the curb for collection, a solid waste vehicle equipped with a specially designed mechanical arm will allow the operator to safely empty containers without leaving the cab of the truck or applying physical exertion. The Department’s goal is to expand fully automated collection services to 80% of the City. For more information on this program please call (813) 348-1111.

Mark C. Wilfalk, Manager