URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Urbana’s new and improved U-Cycle program is set to kick off in less than a week.

This city program will start a new recycling contract with GFL Environmental on April 1. With this, some changes will be happening for curbside residents, including a new U-Cycle truck that will use a mechanical arm to pick up recycling curbside.

Urbana is asking residents to make sure no vehicles or any other obstructions are blocking the U-Cart and to provide a clearance of at least four feet so that the truck can empty the cart. People are also asked to place the cart curbside and front facing toward the street for collection.

The city is also asking residents using small open top recycling bins to have them emptied using a separate truck. Urbana is urging people to replace the open top bin with a U-Cart to prevent wind-blown litter and keep recyclables dry. People are also able to request a free U-Cart online or by calling U-Cycle at 217-384-2302.

On top of this, U-Cycle will no longer be accepting plastic bags in their recycling program. For more information on this, residents are asked to review the city’s updated brochure. Lastly, Urbana is asking its residents to set out their recycling the night before their U-Cycle collection day in order to ensure the collection happens.

Any other questions are to be directed to U-Cycle at 217-384-2302. For more general information on the City of Urbana, visit their website.