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Milwaukee snow response pauses garbage, recycling collection
Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works suspended garbage and recycling pickup on Monday, March 16, to focus on clearing snow-covered streets, while also postponing leaf collection until later this week.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works suspended garbage and recycling pickup on Monday, March 16, to focus on clearing snow-covered streets, while also postponing leaf collection until later this week.
What we know:
The city has not declared a snow emergency, meaning drivers can still park in legal spots on either side of the street. But that also means curbside parking lanes may remain difficult to access because those areas are not being plowed.
The city said residents whose garbage pickup was scheduled for Monday should leave their bins out, with collection expected later in the week as crews are able to get to them.
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Leaf collection was also postponed. City officials said residents should leave leaves where they are, rather than trying to move them again, with pickup expected to resume after the snow melts later this week.
What they're saying:
"We started treating at 400 pounds per mile at 8:00 last night. What happened was, because there was a transition early on. So it was rain most of the day. We started salting and getting a little bit of a slick base underneath," said DPW Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke. "As you can see, right now was a wet, heavy start between 6–9 last night. Transition. Now, if you're outside, it's a light, fluffy snow. So they have been continually treated all through the night. And even today."
Kruschke said the earlier rain made pretreatment difficult because brine would have been washed away before the snow began sticking.
"The commutes in the morning for folks that were going to work, it's a little brutal this morning. As you kind of commute home, even though the winds will be there, the roads are going to look a lot better," he added.
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Jason offers to help people in the snow, that help is declined
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Dig deeper:
On a typical snowy day, the city uses 102 snow plows. Kruschke said Milwaukee nearly doubled that response Monday by adding 40 garbage trucks equipped with plows and another 30 to 40 end loaders to help clear roads.
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The Source: FOX6 News talked with Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works commissioner.