City dumpster issues outlined in detailed report

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham’s city commission may look to add dumpster regulations to an agenda given a recent report on the issue included in the Monday, July 14, commission meeting.

City staff provided a detailed report on what surrounding communities are doing to address dumpster related issues as well as potential solutions for the city.

Back in May of 2024, the city discussed handling garbage downtown and the potential for bringing it to a meeting as a formal agenda item. Since then, the planning department provided commissioners with a report on how the city currently handled dumpsters. Commissioners wanted to learn more about what other communities were doing to address dumpster related issues and what opportunities the city may pursue.

The report in Monday night’s was written by planning director Nick Dupuis and included community insights from Royal Oak, Ferndale and Rochester. Per Dupuis’ report, each city described experiencing the same challenges with the number of dumpsters, types of waste, enforcement of city code and ordinances as well as managing the human side of things.

For Birmingham, Dupuis explained, some of the key issues the city experiences but has difficulty solving include the high volume of dumpsters and frequency of pick-up service, spatial limitations, abuse and improper disposal, operational costs, and aesthetics and nuisance. Dupuis suggests that the city would benefit from a multi-faceted approach to address these issues.

Dupuis detailed five different approaches the commission could consider: centralized compactor systems, which he writes would reduce the quantity of solid waste containers downtown but could be more complicated to manage; containerized waste collection, an approach the city already takes, could improve with standardized container options in a modified program; public-private partnerships may help offset the cost of a solid waste program; smart bins and sensors could help maximize efficiency of collection; and policy and enforcement which Dupuis said would take more dedicated resources to maintain consistent enforcement.

Commissioners did not discuss the dumpster report during the meeting but noted that it was included in the packet and reviewed by the commission. No formal action was taken on the item.