Birmingham is waiting on the overdue delivery of four new one-arm lift garbage trucks capable of picking up its new 96-gallon garbage cans, Mayor Randall Woodfin told the Birmingham City Council this morning.

The trucks ordered two years ago are in service, he said.

The trucks that were ordered in February and were expected in July haven’t arrived yet, Woodfin said.

Until they arrive, the city won’t distribute the 40,000 remaining trash cans out of 100,000 that were expected to be delivered by now.

“The quicker we get the trucks, the faster we can deploy them,” Woodfin said. “The bins are not the problem. We have the bins.”

The 96-gallon carts are too heavy for city workers to empty by hand, so there’s no point in distributing carts until the new lift trucks are available to run those routes, he said.

“These bins weigh a lot,” Woodfin said. “You need the trucks.”

Woodfin and Birmingham City Council members said they continue to be bombarded with questions by those who haven’t gotten their new garbage cans yet.

“We need the trucks first,” Woodfin said. “We literally are as impatient as the council and our residents.”

Woodfin said the areas that have not received new trash cans are in “all quadrants, every side of town, all nine districts,” not focused in any particular neighborhoods.

The trucks should arrive within a few weeks and the garbage can distribution will happen when they arrive, he said.

Woodfin referred residents with questions about their new containers to check www.birminghamal.gov/pickup for information.

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