No more garbage bags?

Avoyelles residents could see more rules concerning their garbage pickup, if the Avoyelle Police Jury approves an effort by one of the jurors to tighten up on litter.
The Avoyelles Parish Police Jury will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, July 9 at 4:40 p.m. to discuss proposed changes to garbage pickup in Avoyelles. The hearing will be held on the second floor of the parish courthouse at 312 N. Main Street in Marksville to hear input from the public.
The proposed ordinance to be discussed includes new requirements on garbage cans and waste receptacles. It will also address the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. time frame given to remove cans from the roadway.
The change comes after Juror Travis Franks proposed the ordinance change during the Jury meeting in April.
The changes, according to Franks’ proposal, are to combat animals digging trash out of bins, large containers and cans without lids that are left at roadways.
The ordinance will also be enforced as part of the newly formed litter court program.
Waste Connections, the company which is employed to pick up trash in Avoyelles, did not make or call for the proposed changes.
TYPES OF CANS
Part of the changes are that certain sized cans will have to be used for pickup. Loose trash bags will no longer be able to be used.
Garbage collectors will still be picking up cans by hand, but according to the public hearing notice, containers could not be less than five gallons and no larger than 30 gallons of capacity.
The cans must also be made of substantial plastic matter with handles strong enough for work crews to empty conveniently with a lid to keep animals out.
What does that mean for John Q. Avoyellean? Oversized plastic square containers and wood pallet platforms with loose bags would be a thing of the past.
According to the proposed ordinance, all apartments or buildings with eight or more units will be able to keep three 30-gallon containers for disposal of garbage. But that's only if it is placed in containers of one yard capacity mounted on wheels and designed to be lifted and dumped mechanically by an attachment on the rear of the garbage trucks. All containers for collection would have to be placed within the premises immediately adjacent to the street or sidewalk and not less than five feet from travelled streets if there is no curb. Cans would not be allowed to be placed on the street or sidewalk or in any ditch along the street.
Judging from comments already being debated, it appears the ordinance will have some opposition at the hearing. Some are complaining about the requirement of having to use cans. In the past, the garbage companies have suggested pouring a cap of vinegar into a trash bag to keep animals out. But that apparently is not working, and the proposal calls for cans having to be used.
TIME ISSUE
Another issue receiving complaints concerning the new ordinance is time of placement and removal of cans.
Under the new ordinance, containers would have to be placed out for collection by 6 a.m. the morning of pickup and removed from the roadway by 6 p.m. after pickup.
Having a garbage can at the roadway when it isn’t supposed to be there, could result in a fine from the newly created litter court.
According to the ordinance to be discussed, any person who violates the provisions of Section 10.6 (e) shall pay a penalty of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) for a first violation; a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a second violation within a two-year period; and a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for a third and any subsequent violations within a two-year period.

WHERE TO READ ORDINANCE
A copy of the ordinance and public hearing notice will appear in The Marksville Weekly News and Bunkie Record editions in the next few weeks and avoyellestoday.com as a legal notice.