Arlington Heights asks residents to talk trash

Not only is garbage pickup a hot topic in Arlington Heights, but so is how residents should be surveyed about the topic.

The Village Board spent two hours Monday editing a survey that will be distributed next month to 3,000 single-family homes. An additional 200 survey responses will be gathered by phone. And anyone interested can respond to questions on the village's Web site.

While much of the meeting was spent tweaking language to be sure residents understand what they are being asked, controversy arose after a member of the audience suggested that residents should be educated about environmental issues before they are surveyed.

The village's contract with Groot Industries Inc., of Elk Grove Village expires March 31, 2011. The board hired Public Research Group of Naperville to consult on the survey. The company will receive about $12,000, said Dave Emanuelson, partner in the firm.

Questions the board will have to decide before issuing a new contract include whether to continue the twice-a-week garbage collection and whether carts on wheels should be used instead of plastic garbage bags and open recycling bins.

Arlington Heights and Skokie are the only two among 23 governments in the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County that have twice-a-week garbage pickup, said James McCalister, the village's director of health services.

While basic curbside service costs a household $23.88 a month, only about $5 of that is probably attributed to the second pickup of the week, according to SWANCC figures, said McAlister.

Debra Baruch, a teaching assistant who works with the ecology club at Olive-Mary Stitt School, said residents should be educated about issues like wear and tear on the streets and pollution before they are surveyed.

Emanuelson said it is difficult to do education programs without bias, and it is better to first find out how people feel and what their questions and issues are.

He approved the board's plan to put carts that residents can examine at village hall and the library.

The board agreed with Emanuelson by a 5-3 vote that a community forum should be held after the surveys are administered.

Emanuelson said preliminary results could be available one month after the surveys are mailed out, but generally a client like the village waits about three months before ending input.