Burned furniture, unbagged trash common trash pick-up items in Kent

Editor’s note: This semester, the features staff is taking a behind-the-scenes look at jobs and activities. This part of the series examines what it takes to complete trash pick-up in Kent.

Throwing out all those old cans of beer and soggy pizza boxes can take a toll on R & R Sanitation employees as they clean up streets in Kent.

The city of Kent has two trucks that clean the area Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each truck has one man doing all the necessary work.

Gary Vincent, general manager of R & R Sanitation, has been in the industry for 39 years and says the worst streets to clean up in Kent are College Avenue, Sherman Street, Lincoln Street and University Drive.

“They don’t always put the garbage in bags, and they just throw it towards the street,” he said. “It’s a tangled mess.”

Vincent said his employees have reported that burned mattresses and couches add to the mess, and not only for College Fest. Nothing else out of the ordinary has been reported, but there’s always furniture to be picked up. He said people can do their part by making sure their trash is bagged and put out in a presentable manner.

“Think of it as if you had to pick it up yourself,” he said. “You wouldn’t just throw it.”

Items that have accidently been thrown out can be retrieved if the possessor is willing to look through it. Vincent has heard of people looking for jewelry and even cash.

“As long as they have permission from the landfill, our trucks will dump the trash and they can search through it,” he said.

– Jess Briganti