Garbage Rates To Increase In April

WATER VALLEY – The cost for garbage pickup is going up a buck in the county in April–from $12 to $13. The increase comes after supervisors awarded a three year-contract for curbside garbage pickup to Waste Management.
    The change takes place April 1 and ends a dozen-year relationship with the county’s current garbage company, Resourceful Environmental Services (R.E.S.).
    Waste Management bid $11.71 per can per month, 66 cents lower that R.E.S.’s $12.37 bid. The county is currently paying $10.88 per can per month but the contract had expired and the service had to be rebid. The increase, an 83-cent bump, prompted  the dollar increase to customers.
    The dollar-plus cushion is needed to operate the county’s solid waste department, and covers the 29-cent monthly postage for the county’s billing for an estimated 2,950 customers. The cushion also is used to cash flow the county’s garbage account for customers who are not paying.
    Supervisors awarded the contract by a unanimous vote during a recessed meeting last Friday and noted that price was the only factor in the decision. Service from R.E.S. had been spotty during the last 18 to 24 months, prompting frustration from supervisors.
    “We had a long run with R.E.S. and they served us well for several years. But we did have some problems during the last year,” Board President Tommy Vaughn said during the meeting.
    “We certainly look forward to Waste Management coming in. We hope we have a long run with y’all. We fully expect to have good service and I know y’all will give it,” Vaughn told the Waste Management officials at the meeting.
    Waste Management representative Kenneth Wicker outlined plans for the transition.
    “Next week I will be all over the county riding the roads,” Wicker told the Herald. “We want to change as few people as possible,” he explained, referring to the pickup day each week.
    Waste Management has ordered new cans, which will be delivered prior to the April 1 start date. Wicker said each can will have a sticker identifying which day of the week it will be emptied.
    “We want to make a smooth transition on this,” Wicker told the Herald.