After more than a decade of debate, Columbia starts using roll carts today

This is a brand-new city of Columbia roll cart (February 2024 photo courtesy of Columbia spokeswoman Sydney Olsen)

Columbia Solid Waste Utility crews will are starting to collect trash this morning using roll carts for the first time.

Columbia’s city council voted unanimously last spring to approve a roll cart trash collection system. City manager De’Carlon Seewood pushed for roll carts, saying they improve safety for sanitation employees and boost efficiency. City officials remind you that carts should be placed at the curb no earlier than 4 pm on the day preceding collection, and you’ll need to remove them from the curb by 10 pm on collection day.

The ordinance also says Columbia residents need to keep the roll carts reasonably clean so they don’t attract flies, rodents or other pests.