City discusses dissatisfaction, options with trash service
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A pile of recyclable materials sits on the side of the road in Washington Thursday morning, following Wednesday’s pickup.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Washington officials are requesting better trash pickup services from County Hauling, with whom they have a five-year contract.
After receiving several complaints from residents in the last few months, Washington officials have sent a formal letter to County Hauling Corp., requesting it improves its service.
Frustrated residents have voiced concerns both to the company and City Council about skipped houses, streets and recyclables that are piling up.
“One resident gets his garbage picked up but not his recycling,” said Councilman Ken Westcott. “One half of Third Street was picked up but not the other half. It just doesn’t make sense. There are other parts of town that some of the streets get missed on a regular basis.”
The city’s five-year contract with County Hauling began Jan. 1 and will expire Dec. 31, 2023, according to Lynn Galluze, the city’s computer systems coordinator. She said the recycling and solid waste collection contracts were bid out separately, but County Hauling was the lowest bidder on both.
At $668,624 per year of the contract, solid waste collection will cost the city about $3.34 million over the five years, Galluze said. Recycling collection will cost $140,233 per year, totaling about $705,167 over five years, she said.
The figures are based on the 4,702 residential households or apartment units in the city. Residential apartment buildings with seven or more units are excluded because they’re considered commercial, Galluze said.
Westcott said city officials sent a letter to County Hauling about two weeks ago “in regards to their performance bond.”
“They need to provide a better service to the city,” he said. “Their performance has been poor since day one.”
Westcott said he and Washington Mayor Scott Putnam met with County Hauling’s owner, Rich Walton, in June to discuss the city’s dissatisfaction with trash pickup. At the time, city officials were told that the company needed more time to better understand the streets and improve the service, Westcott said.
“But now, 11 months into this, we’re still having the same complaints,” Westcott said. “It’s time for the city to take action. We’ve reached the point that a letter needed to be sent to protect the residents of the city of Washington.”
According to the contract, the city has to give the company “time to remedy the situation” following the formal letter, Westcott said. He said a couple months should suffice.
“We’re not looking for perfection – we’re looking for improvement,” Westcott said. “We want the garbage picked up. That’s not too much to ask.”
According to Westcott, Walton has “assured” him the company is working to improve the service. In an email Thursday afternoon, County Hauling spokesperson Ro Rozier said the Belle Vernon company is staffed with local employees.
“We are thrilled about our contract to provide services to the residents of Washington and have worked hard to obtain some of the best service metrics in the industry,” Rozier said in the email. “We are always willing to sit down and discuss any issues and are committed to solving them.”
Westcott said the city is working with them to put together a program that will help them respond faster to calls or complaints about missed pickups.
“They have some software they’re putting together for tracking,” Westcott said. “So, maybe when that’s implemented, it will help.”
If the service doesn’t improve, the city will “keep its options open” and “take the next step” when it comes to the contract and performance bond, Westcott said.
“The goal is not to terminate their contract; the goal is for them to improve their service,” he said. “I don’t know if I want to do another three months like this let alone another three years.”
One resident has already been dealing with trash pickup problems for roughly three years. Frank Trapuzzano said that while the service at his residence has seemed to improve this year, he’s had problems stemming back to 2016, when Republic had the contract, then later when Waste Management had it.
He had approached council about the issues several times in 2017.
“I said I wasn’t being provided a service and I should receive a refund or a credit,” Trapuzzano said. “The garbage was missed once or twice, but recycling wasn’t getting picked up. They were just passing us by.”
Trapuzzano refused to pay trash fees in 2018. Last month, he received a sheriff’s notice that the city was seeking $652.85 for 2018 trash fees he never paid. Both Trapuzzano and Westcott said that they have worked out a deal between Trapuzzano and the city in which Trapuzzano won’t have to pay the majority of that fine.