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15147797 772,0 e<91-u-2eLl ,e,24,6-22,- CAN ORGANIZED COLLECTION REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY? Organized collection does reduce nuisance impacts associated with several refuse collectors picking up waste on the same block. Organized collection reduces wear and tear on roads and improves air quality because fuel consumption is reduced. Organized collection improves public safety because fewer miles are traveled by garbage trucks thereby decreasing the potential for accidents. The expected life of any street or alley surface is related to the traffic which is carried by the street or alley. The roadway surface is particularly affected by heavy wheel loads. The effect on a roadway of one refuse truck is equivalent to 1,500 automobiles. This figure has been documented by the Research Section of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and is currently used by Mn/DOT in street and highway design. In its organized collection efforts, St. Paul estimated to what degree the life of a street can be extended if refuse collection were organized. The city assumed that if under the current system, where each household arranges for collection, traffic volume on a given street is 500 cars per day and five refuse trucks per week, the equivalent traffic on the street amounts to 11,000 cars per week. Under an organized collection system with only one refuse truck per week, the equivalent traffic on the street is 5,000 cars per week. The comparison shows that the effect on the roadway by traffic may be substantially reduced. Realistically, all streets might not last substantially longer under an organized collection system because roadway life is dependent upon many other factors than traffic. However, traffic does have a significant effect upon roadway life. These additional roadway costs are external costs passed on to the city as a consequence of each household arranging for refuse collection. The reduced mileage that refuse trucks travel can reduce the potential number of accidents involving garbage trucks. Reducing the number of miles traveled by garbage trucks reduced traffic congestion and may reduce the number of accidents. Emissions of air pollutants would be reduced because garbage trucks would reduce total mileage. The precise reduction in pollutants as a result of moving to an organized collection system is difficult to predict because there are both gasoline and diesel powered collection vehicles, and it is difficult to estimate the reduction in traffic congestion and miles traveled by garbage trucks that would be achieved by organized collection. The emission rates of pollutants vary according to the speed of the vehicle with more emissions at lower speeds. Emissions of importance include hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. Heavy duty diesel trucks also emit particulates, sulfur oxides, aldehydes, and organic acids. Of particular concern are particulate emissions from diesel engines because they contain polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons-(PAH)which are known carcinogens: Organized collection is one of several methods that could improve neighborhood aesthetics. It could eliminate the unsightliness of containers set out for collection sometimes every day of the week on some blocks. Organized collection could discourage illegal dumping and stockpiling of unwanted and unsightly items in backyards because the costs of removal are generally extra where a household arranges for collection with a waste hauler. Reducing litter, dumping, and stockpiling could contribute to public health and safety.