Queen Creek's Town Council wants residents to talk trash with them.

The town is seeking information about interest in a communitywide garbage service and is asking residents to participate in a survey to help the Town Council gauge interest in the service. The town has posted a survey on its Web site www.queencreek.org.

Paper copies of the survey are also available at all town events and meetings through the end of June.

The survey will include questions related to current collection schedules, interest in recycling and preference for the town's role in negotiating for a townwide contract with a garbage company or service.

In March the Town Council received results of a study on trash service. The study was conducted after the county's landfill, at Riggs and Hawes roads, closed last year.

The study was conducted by town-hired consultant R.W. Beck and showed that the most cost-effective way to provide townwide service for Queen Creek residents would be for the town to contract with a collection company and provide garbage and recycling cans. Currently, residents and home-owners associations contract with private collection companies on their own.

The study also showed that residents outside of a home-owners association pay the most for garbage collection, about $25 a month. Some communities with homeowners associations contract with garbage collection companies for the entire community at a discount rate and pass that savings onto residents, who pay an average of $14 a month.

Before making a decision some council members recommended surveying residents to see how important the service is to them, particularly when costs are increasing for water, sewer and other town services.

Councilman Jon Wootten said there are pros and cons to the current methods of trash collection in town.

"While we hear a lot of complaints about having to subscribe for trash service and the hassles with that, on the other hand it's very flexible and the town is not involved," he said. "Typically that means less flexibility and more control over the vehicles in town and the number of trucks and cans. I would like to see input on that."

Scott Pasternak with R.W. Beck said a town contract for garbage collection would cost residents less than what it costs residents living in an HOA - providing for once weekly curbside garbage collection and once weekly curbside recycling collection.

Pasternak said startup costs would include the purchase of trash and recycling containers at $825,000 and an employee to oversee the program at just under $70,000 a year.