Garbage collection in residential areas may start at 6 a.m. if the full City Council follows the recommendation for the early start by a council committee that heard testimony it would save the city up to $4.4 million. The savings would come with sanitation employees working 10 hours a day for four days a week instead of eight hours for five days a week. The current start of garbage collection is 7 a.m., but the Natural Resources and Culture Committee voted 4-0 on April 14 to endorse the idea and forwarded it to the City Council. The change would fall within the Noise Abatement and Control section of the Municipal Code and would require City Council approval. The motion to forward it to City Council was made by Councilwoman Marti Emerald with Councilmembers Donna Frye, Sherri Lightner and Carl DeMaio voting for it along with Emerald. Joan Raymond, who represents the city’s sanitation workers, said most of the workers are in favor of the change, saying it would be more efficient. She noted this would only involve curbside collection with the city’s green and blue containers used for pick up by mechanical means. It would not involve dumpsters and would not be imposed on private haulers of dumpsters that are used by owners of condos or apartment buildings. The savings would include about $2.4 million in the general fund, according to a City Council report.