New Cans Create Garbage Confusion

WATER VALLEY – The calls have been pouring in to the county’s garbage department as a new company will begin picking up garbage next week.
    Waste Management won a three-year contract to provide curbside garbage pickup in the county and is currently working to place new garbage cans at each residence.
    Waste Management will replace R.E.S. (Resourceful Environmental Services), who is picking up trash and the old cans during this final week of service. This means many residents in the county have two cans during the transition, creating the confusion that has triggered almost 200 calls to the county’s garbage department this week.
    “R.E.S. will only pick up trash in their cans this week,” reported Donna Massey, who runs the county’s garbage department. Starting next week all trash should be placed in the new cans for pickup by Waste Management.
    Massey reported that Waste Management will pick up using a five-day route, starting next week, and some customer’s garbage pickup days will change.
    “It will not affect everybody,” Massey explained. Waste Management has promised to send letters to each customer by the weekend identifying their pickup day.
    Further complicating the transfer has been poor service by R.E.S. during the last week.
    Massey said she fielded complaints from garbage customers who are picked up on Wednesdays and Thursdays who were not serviced last week.
    Waste Management received the new contract after submitting the lowest bid, $11.71 per can per month. Although the lowest bid, the price still increased as the expiring bid from R.E.S. was $10.88 per month.
    R.E.S. also bid on the new three-year contract, but was 66 cents higher than Waste Management.
    The increase forced supervisors to increase the monthly garbage fee from $12 to $13 monthly for customers in the county.