Trash haulers on Bethlehem's Southside are ready to go "in the zone" as part of a pilot program for zoned trash hauling starting in the fall.

Members of city council's Community Development Committee discussed the pilot program July 14, recommending the program for consideration by the full council at an upcoming meeting. Council member/committee chair Bryan Callahan and committee members Adam Waldron and Louis Stellato attended, joined by council members Michael Recchiuti and Eric Evans and Council President J. William Reynolds.

Mayor Bob Donchez said he has had four meetings with local haulers over the past 14 or 15 months, joined by the city police and health departments. Twenty-three haulers operate in Bethlehem, Donchez said, with about 12 on the Southside, creating a logistical challenge. Despite that challenge, the mayor said he is not an advocate of a single-hauler program. The Southside was chosen for the pilot program because 57 percent of trash-related violations occur there.

The pilot program, if approved by the full council, would specify a Monday and Tuesday pickup, possibly with some exceptions for weather-related delays. The program, to begin Oct. 5, the first Monday of the month, would also include changing the start of collection time to 5 a.m. from 6 a.m. This would allow trucks to finish busy streets before morning commuter traffic and school busses. The program would be evaluated after six months and at the end of a year.

Trash haulers are certified at the state level rather than by local municipalities.

Callahan was in favor of the pilot program. "I think the hauling situation in the city is broken as it is," he said. Recchuiti expressed reservations about starting at 5 a.m. across the city, since haulers may then be on the streets going to their pickup locations even earlier.

Director of Environmental Health Jessica Lucas told council members that city code Article 1161.10 covers overall public health and failure to comply with regulations. With proper notice given, she said, "We are able to enforce changes in overall pickup or time. "We have issued citations under 1161 and we have been successful," she said.

Evans noted council members have had a lot of feedback and the zoned hauling was very well received.

Donchez said starting at 5 a.m. is very important to the haulers but is "not a dealbreaker. It's a quality of life issue," he said.