Volunteers and residents at the July 15 Wheeler City Council meeting described overcrowded dumpsters and nonresident dumping during the recent Cleanup Day and urged procedural changes for future events.

Event coordinator Mary (last name on file) said the two dumpsters provided by Recology filled quickly on a rainy day and left crews with unsafe overflow. She recommended not accepting tires or paint (which can be collected at the transfer station), adding a third dumpster, and recruiting volunteers — including students seeking community-service hours — for future events.

Several residents and volunteers agreed. Mike Anderson said volunteers spent many hours supervising and clearing the waterfront site after the event; another resident suggested shifting the event to a weekday allied with established student “day of service” schedules so volunteers and haulers can coordinate and Recology or transfer-station resources can be available. Organizers also suggested asking Manzanita and neighboring towns to clarify the event is for Wheeler residents only and to consider a registration or volunteer staffing plan ahead of the event.

Why it matters: The Cleanup Day is a municipal service intended to help Wheeler residents properly dispose of bulky waste and hazardous items. Recurrent overflow increases staff safety risk, strains volunteer capacity and shifts disposal costs and labor to city public works.

Councilors and staff said they would explore options: request a third dumpster, more explicit signage and enforcement of Wheeler-only participation, a weekday event date to align with hauler staffing, and recruiting youth volunteers via school service-day programs. Staff noted Recology now requires written grant/requests well in advance and that organizing the event requires months of planning.

The council did not take formal action at the meeting but asked staff to return with options for next year’s event and to consult Recology about capacity and scheduling.

Quoted material in this story comes from volunteers and council discussion during the public-comment and committee-report portions of the meeting.