Fremont Town Board shows support for potentially imposing trash fines
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 17, 2016 1:46 PM
The town of Fremont may soon begin imposing fines on those who leave their trash and recycling cans on the side of the road after they have been picked up.
Although a specific date was not given, the board of aldermen decided at its meeting Tuesday night to support the actions of town sanitation staff as they try to combat the increasing problem of cans being left out after pickup.
In addition to being an eyesore, the cans left on the road can cause a safety hazard for drivers who are often forced to swerve in order to avoid hitting them.
In addition, when cans are placed too close together, turned around backwards or overfilled, it forces town employees to leave the trash truck and manually correct the issues themselves. This can range from moving cans to the side to make room for the trash truck's arm to fit around one to picking up individual bags of trash which fall out of a can that was faced the wrong way.
The issue has been a recurring discussion topic for the board for months, with Alderwoman Joyce C. Artis making a point to bring it up at recent meetings. Matthew Drummond, who does trash collection for the town, gave a presentation outlining the various ways that improper trash can usage makes his job less efficient and thus backs up the process for the entire town.
Mayor Darron Flowers agreed that steps needed to be taken to enforce the rules regarding trash cans, which already exist in the town's ordinances. But he cautioned that many people may not be aware that they are doing anything wrong, and would therefore be caught off guard by fines imposed on their utility bills.
Drummond said that he had been using informational stickers to notify people of ordinance violations in an attempt to teach people the correct way to use the cans.
Town hall staff has begun handing out a trash and recycling information sheet to town residents when they come in to pay utility bills.
Drummond said that, out of the 85 offenders he noted during his last route, he hoped to narrow the field to around 15 or 20 "people being hard-headed" before any fines were imposed.
In agreement that the process needed to begin, but would take some time, the board agreed to support the actions of the town staff should they receive any complaints.
If anyone in Fremont needs an additional trash can, they can contact the town hall at 919-242-5151 and have another delivered for a cost of $18 per month. If someone needs an additional can for a few days, such as for a party or other special event, they can have a can delivered as a courtesy, free of charge.
For Fremont residents, information on when to place and retrieve your trash and recycling cans can be found at www.fremontnc.gov/waste-recycling-collections/. For more specific information on town ordinances, contact town hall or visit to pick up an information sheet.