WAILUKU — This summer, residents in Lahaina and Makawao and other parts of Upcountry will be getting new 96-gallon trash bins, The Maui News reported.

The new rectangular refuse containers are an indication that the fourth phase of Maui County's ongoing effort to switch to automated refuse-collection trucks is moving forward.

On Friday, Mayor Charmaine Tavares and United Public Workers state Director Dayton Nakanelua signed an agreement as part of a press conference held in the Mayor's Lounge. The pact will allow the county to bring the weekly service to West Maui and Upcountry neighborhoods by July.

About 7,000 households will receive the service, which requires only one truck operator versus three or four workers on the old manual back-loading garbage trucks.

None of the 30 workers affected by the switch to automated trucks, which use a robotic arm to lift and empty the bins into the truck, will lose their county jobs, Nakanelua said.

"All the people who are working will still be working," Nakanelua said.

Nakanelua said the workers no longer needed to manually load trash trucks will be transferred to the county baseyard or become part of a pilot project by the county to collect "white goods" — appliances such as refrigerators and stoves that cannot be dumped at the county landfills but have low recycling value.

The county has a long-standing problem with residents dumping old appliances into gulches and road ditches because metal recyclers and the landfill would not accept them.

Okuma said that the department and union spent five months negotiating the new labor contract.

"We just basically changed the work agreements," Tavares said. "This isn't a huge cultural change for the employees."

Tavares said that the workers could also eventually be utilized when the county someday makes curbside recycling pickup available.

The county purchased several of the automated trucks at a cost of $1.5 million, said Department of Environmental Management Director Cheryl Okuma. The vehicles and system are more efficient, she said.

She also said some manual collection teams will still be required in areas where the larger automated trucks — which hold 28 cubic yards of garbage — can't operate.

Automated refuse collection started in Maui County on Lanai in 2002 and is provided in most of Central Maui and in Kihei. The program is overseen by the Department of Environmental Management.

Residents getting automated trash collection service are provided a single 96-gallon bin, with two collection days a week. The bins are on wheels and must be moved into a roadside spot where the automated arm can have access for the pickup.

Neighborhoods with manual trash pickups have collections scheduled once a week, but are allowed up to five bags or trash bins.

Tavares said she's not sure when the next phase of automated pickups will occur, but it will probably take place on Molokai.

For more Maui news, visit The Maui News.