By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Noisy trucks emptying dumpsters early in the morning might soon be targeted by a city ordinance restricting the times of day they can operate.

At the last meeting of the Peachtree City Council, a draft ordinance was presented that would forbid those trucks from operating from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. City Manager Jim Basinger said the city has been getting complaints from residents who are woken from sleep when they hear the metal-on-metal noise the trucks create.

“The complaints have increased in recent months,” Basinger said.

Council chose not to act on the ordinance after receiving input from the public and one representative of a trash collection company.

Peachtree City resident Sharon Chandler said she has been working with local waste hauling companies to get them to empty the dumpsters at a more reasonable time. Once, she was awoken by a trash truck at 1:45 a.m.

Chandler said that 6 a.m. might be a better time to allow the trucks to start since the 7 a.m. limit puts them emptying dumpsters at local fast food restaurants when they are just opening.

David Langas, the general manager of Environmental Partners in Tyrone, said the main reason the trucks operate early in the morning is for public safety concerns.

“There’s no traffic, no school buses, no parked cars and no golf carts,” Langas said. He added that his company is willing to work with residents and the city “to keep this hazard down.”
Local resident Robert Brown questioned whether the matter couldn’t be worked out without an ordinance. Another resident, Steve Brown, suggested taking other measures such as using plastic devices to quiet the sound when the dumpsters are serviced.

But Basinger said the city had sought a resolution with the different waste hauling companies to no avail.
“We have been working on this issue but we have not been able to resolve it,” Basinger said.