The Murfreesboro City Council voted Wednesday, July 10 to approve design guidelines on qualifying for Solid Waste collection.

The City of Murfreesboro Solid Waste Department presented the City Council with Solid Waste design guidelines for determining what types of single-family attached developments qualify for curbside collection services.

"The City's Solid Waste Department is comprised primarily of a fleet of vehicles that utilize articulating arms on the right side of the vehicle to pick up and dump 96-gallon solid waste containers," said Utility Enterprises Executive Director Darren Gore. "Street geometry, alley widths, dead-end streets without proper turnarounds, and surface parking in front of residential units, are critical factors the City's ability to efficiently and effectively deliver curbside services."

A design guidelines manual to inform the development community of requirements necessary to receive curbside solid waste collection services is attached. Among the criteria are the following:

• Alleys used for solid waste collection vehicles that serve individual residential units must be a minimum 18-feet in width.

• Alleys must meet the residential street standard asphalt surface course.

• Alleys should extend through a block between public streets and avoid 90-degree or acute angled turns.

• No detached single-family dwellings or attached single-family dwellings will be served if the following occurs:

• Surface parking is allowed in front of the dwelling units.
The geometric design of public streets or alleys in the development does not meet the engineering department design standards of public streets.
• A private street or alley does not meet the geometric design and paving schedule approved by the Engineering Department design standards.
• A side-loading Solid Waste truck is physically unable to reach the 96-gallon City Solid Waste collection cart from the alley or roadway.
• Attached dwellings over 5 units, with common entrances for each building or with units arranged one atop the other in multiple stories, or water master-metered complexes with rental units.
• A right-hand side-loader collection vehicle must "back" into a roadway or alley to retrieve a 96-gallon Solid Waste cart.

For more information on Solid Waste collection, visit the department webpage or call 615-893-3681.