The Roslyn Village Board of Trustees and Residential Carting, the sanitation company employed by the village, have agreed to place a dumpster at a centralized location in the municipal parking lot on Old Northern Boulevard for a one-month trial in order to alleviate the garbage problem in the village.

The dumpster will be placed in the village at no charge for the first month. After that, village officials will assess the effectiveness of the structure and decide whether or not to continue the service. According to Mayor Janet Galante, the dumpster service should begin "within two weeks" from now.

At the last village meeting, BOT members instructed personnel from Residential Carting to show up at the Feb. 2 meeting to help the village come to a resolution on the matter.

Charles DiDomenico of Residential suggested both the use of a dumpster and the free, one-month trial period. BOT members and Mr. DiDomenico briefly discussed the idea of buying a garbage compactor. The cost of such a product, according to Mr. DiDomenico, would be in the neighborhood of $2,500 to $2,700. And so that idea was dropped in favor of the dumpster.

Village trustees have long considered providing a key for owners of business establishments on Old Northern Boulevard, allowing them to use the dumpster.

Mr. DiDomencio said that wasn't a good idea. From his experiences, some businessmen will lock the dumpster, but some will forget. He called the idea of a key "a nuisance."

Mayor Galante said the village would strictly monitor usage of the dumpster. She later admitted that its presence, might at first, be "an inconvenience" to some merchants, but if all goes well, it will go a long way in improving the general appearance of the business district.

Since last fall, both merchants and residents have been complaining about garbage pileups in the heart of the business district. In addition to the eyesore, the problem was costing the village undue cleanup funds. The habit of animals from nearby Roslyn Pond coming into downtown Roslyn and killing off the plastic bags currently used for garbage also highlighted the problem.

In recent months, both the village and the Chamber of Commerce have tried to work together to come up with a solution.

The village has suggested amending the sanitation contract by not allowing any garbage to be placed on village sidewalks on Saturdays, Sundays, and all holidays except during the time schedules to be set by the BOT.

Chamber of Commerce members, meanwhile, suggested creating several locations in the village for sanitation containers. With the coming of a single dumpster at a central location, a variation of this idea has been agreed upon by both the BOT and its sanitation company.