“More and more people are taking advantage of the program each year, so we’re very happy with it,” said Darden. “We expect a good turnout this year, as well.

“We’re trying to target people who are elderly, handicapped or otherwise don’t have the means to get these large items to our landfill. This is a service the city is going to provide as a courtesy to those people and gives them the opportunity to get things off of their property they might not be able to otherwise.”

Darden said there’s no charge to use the program, which gets under way Friday in municipal District 1 — represented by City Councilwoman Stephanie Horton — and will continue through the other five city districts once a month until completed.

However, residents do need to be aware of what can and cannot be collected, said Darden.

“Some of the more typical items we pick up are appliances that don’t work anymore, couches and mattresses,” said Darden. “Those are the kind of things that we can take to our landfill and we’re allowed to pick up. However, we can’t pick up any household hazardous waste. That means any kind of chemicals including lawn chemicals, car batteries and tires and things of that nature. We also won’t be picking up any tree branches, shrubs or things like that this year.”

Darden said customers need to be aware of gas, water and electricity meters and lines when they put their large items out to be collected.

“A lot of time we have to bring in equipment to pick those large items up,” he said. “If you cover the meters up, it’s hard for us to know where they are. Using the equipment makes the pick up go quicker and we want to make sure our employees are safe while they are picking these things up.”

All items must be by the curb in the city’s right-of-way no sooner than 24 hours before the scheduled collection. Items need to be separated as much as possible for its trip to the municipal landfill.

“To be placed on the pick-up list, all residents have to do is call 264-2504 or 264-2501, and we’ll get them set up. If they don’t call and get on the list, we can’t pick up their items.”

For more information on the Large Item Pick Up program and maps of the six city districts, visit the city of Big Spring Web site at www.ci.big-spring.tx.us, or call 264-2504.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it