Mount Pearl machinery makes it easier to pick up trash

Mount Pearl is upgrading its garbage collection system to include robotics.

City officials recently showed off new machinery that will eliminate heavy lifting.

Garbage trucks have been equipped with robotic arms that will do that work.

Now, with the shift of a joystick, the trash is up and away — no nets, no mess, no fuss.

"This eliminates the whole dependence on the nets, the covering of the garbage, issues of enforcement, strewn garbage all over the city," Mount Pearl Coun. John Walsh told CBC News.

The new system is costing the city about $1.2 million.

Every home in Mount Pearl will receive a new garbage cart, and residents will have to pay a $20 annual waste management fee.

Resident Dave Lythgoe says it's worth it.

"If I have to replace my net, I guess you are looking at $25 or $30 to replace it, and for the convenience," Lythgoe said.

"So it'll all work out and I think it's a fair price to pay for the cleanliness."

The automated system will also be a big help for city workers, Walsh says.

"We've had a lot of injuries with regards to backs, a lot of compensation claims, we had our waste operators picking up bags that were torn with dog feces, disposable diapers, in some cases even syringes and needles that are not properly disposed of," he said. "So there are dangers in that."

Mount Pearl's new garbage collection system is expected to roll out across the entire city by the end of September.