PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline today announced that the City’s Department of Public Works has begun distributing the remaining 47,000 Big Green Cans to the entire city.   The Mayor and representatives from the Department of Public Works greeted workers as they arrived in the Manton/Mount Pleasant neighborhoods to deliver the Big Green Cans to residents. 

“I consider this one of our single most important tools in reducing the rodent population and creating cleaner neighborhoods in our city,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “We have already begun to see good results in neighborhoods that have the Big Green Cans and I fully expect the program to make a significant impact citywide.”

The heavy-duty, 95-gallon trash barrels have wheels for easy transport to the curb and a heavy duty lid that is attached on hinges.  The semi-automated system enables the waste management worker to attach the Big Green Can to a mechanized device that lifts and empties the trash into the truck. 

Similar Big Green Can programs have resulted in a dramatic reduction in the rodent population in cities like Hartford, Connecticut, according the Mayor Cicilline.  The heavy duty lid cuts off the food supply for rodents and prevents trash from blowing from the cans into the streets.

Mayor Cicilline stressed that the Big Green Can is only one component of a successful trash removal system.  He urged residents to use the Big Green Cans properly and reminded them to continue recycling glass and plastic in blue containers and paper in green containers.  Yard waste should be disposed of in large paper containers or in old trash barrels that are specifically marked for yard waste.

“It’s always been a violation to leave garbage out without a container and the City will seriously step up enforcement,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “This is about taking pride in your neighborhood and doing your part to make our community a better place to live and raise a family.”

The DPW began distributing the first 15,000 Big Green Cans to Providence residents last December following a successful pilot program in the Olneyville section of Providence.   Every Providence household should have a Big Green Can by year’s end.