WAILUKU, Maui — The county is preparing to launch automated refuse collection to 7,000 customers in parts of Upcountry and West Maui.

As part of the "1 Can Plan," customers on routes being converted to automated service will receive a 95-gallon wheeled cart that will be picked up twice a week instead of once a week as on manual routes.

Carts already are being distributed Upcountry in anticipation of the start of automated service the week of Oct. 20. In Lahaina, cart delivery will begin Nov. 1, with automated service to start the week of Nov. 24.

Refuse collection days and times for those switching to automated service may change. Pickups are scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. and will run as late as 3:30 p.m., the county said.

Customers living in areas designated for the newly automated routes have been notified by mail.

A list of street names receiving manual and automated trash service and collection days is available online at www.mauicounty.gov/refusecollectionsdays.htm. The complete Lahaina list will be available online Nov. 1.

Department of Environmental Management Director Cheryl Okuma said the new service was made possible as the result of a contract with the United Public Workers union.

The 30 employees affected by the switch to automation will retain their jobs. Okuma said they will be reassigned to implement new programs, such as a crew that picks up only appliances. The workers also could assist with curbside recycling when that program is established, she said.

The automated refuse collection will allow a maximum of 1,000 homes to receive service per day, compared with the present 350-home maximum with manual collection.

The automated trucks require only a driver, while manual collection trucks need a driver plus two or three workers to load the refuse.

Residents who would like to open a refuse collection account may download an application at mauicounty.gov/re fuseapp.pdf or call the Refuse and Landfill Accounts Office at 808-270-7720. Refuse service on Maui costs $168 per year.

For more information about county refuse service and the "1 Can Plan," contact the Department of Environmental Management's Solid Waste Division at 270-7452; in Pa'ia and Ha'iku, call 572-3958.