Last summer, the City of Oregon experimented with using a street vacuum vehicle for picking up leaves and grass clippings residents would rake to the curb.
The project was so popular with the community that the council discussed during their Tuesday meeting purchasing a vehicle. The street vacuum picks up leaves and grass clippings and mulches them.
It was also found that the street sweeper the city owns needed to be emptied after cover one block. The street vacuum could go 3-5 blocks before it needed to be emptied. It was said this would save man-hours for city employees.
City Manager Darin DeHaan said part of getting the machine would be public education. It was found it worked better when the leaves covered the entirety of the curb instead of one large pile.
The cost to the city would be $140,000 and be built by Bonnell Industries. It is estimated to last for 20-years.
