Residents of Great Falls who live on small, secluded streets or whose homes are set back from the road are invited to join the Dranesville Community Trash and Recycling program, also known as the "Park Out" service.
Originally created two years ago when Fairfax County suspended the practice, the Park Out service provides members the opportunity to drop off garbage and recycling at the Great Falls Elementary School on Saturdays between 8 a.m. and noon for an annual fee, said Jacqueline Mackey, a volunteer for the program.
"Some people who live out here have regular trash companies, but there are so many who live in little lanes or in houses where it would be difficult to drive a big truck to them," Mackey said. "With the Park Out, people bring their trash to the school and it's taken away for them."
Currently, there are about 500 members of the program, she said, all of whom have purchased a permit, good for one year, for the service.
When Fairfax County, which provided a similar program at Great Falls Elementary School for years, decided to discontinue it in 2003, a group of residents got together to try to keep the program running, said Garrett Preis, now director of the program.
"We formed a nonprofit to sponsor the service and to manage and arrange for the provision of the trash and recycling program," Preis said. "We offer people the ability to drop off their trash because so many of the homes here in Great Falls are so far apart."
The long, narrow driveways of some homes are also a discouraging obstacle for some of the waste management companies, he said. "Plus, people don't want trash trucks blocking their driveways or coming down the driveway at high speeds," Preis said.
For an annual fee of $255, subscribers to the service are given a permit good for one year, from July 1 until June 30, he said. Anyone who wishes to join the program after Jan. 1 would pay a reduced rate of $140 for the service until June 30.
AS PRESIDENT OF the Great Falls Citizens Association at the time, Eleanor Anderson said there was no lapse in service during the changeover from Fairfax County to the current administrative board of directors.
"It's rare that there's ever a line of cars waiting to be helped because the garbage truck is there for four hours," Anderson said. "It's really easy to drive in and drive out."
Yard debris and large items are not accepted during the Park Out, she said, but they are items that would not be accepted during regular curbside service anyway.
"I live right on the road, and if I were to use a traditional service, it would double the price that I pay now for this," Anderson said. "There's also the peace of mind that I can take my recyclables when I take my trash. These people are real pros."