Wheels for El Cerrito's Little Garbage Can

As many El Cerrito residents noticed this past week, new bright-blue little garbage carts with wheels have begun appearing on the side of city streets.

Now all of the bins that El Cerrito residents use to transport garbage, recycling materials and green waste to the curb can roll.

Before this past week, the smallest of the three options in bins for garbage – the 20-gallon can – had no wheels. It was a large plastic bucket with a gray lid.

The city's garbage-collection company, East Bay Sanitary, replaced the old 20-gallon cans with the new ones during the week.

"It's easier to use for the residents of our city, especially the elderly," said Rick Figone, executive vice president of East Bay Sanitary, the city's garbarge-collection company.

The swap was made at no charge to customers, he said. Notices of the change were sent to those who use the 20-gallon can.

"It's a better product," he said. "There's been great feedback."

The company offers three sizes of garbage carts: 20-gallon, 35-gallon and 64-gallon. The rate chart on the city's Web site shows that those with the 20-gallon garbage cart pay $11.01 less per month than those with a 35-gallon bin and $47.48 less per month than those with a 64-gallon can.

About 20-25 percent of East Bay Sanitary's customers use the 20-gallon cart, Figone said.