by Mary Rupert
More than 14,000 Waste Management customers in Wyandotte County are scheduled to see a change in their trash routes starting Monday, Feb. 25.
“A total 14,381 residential units will see their collection day change,” said Dave Reno, community engagement officer for the Public Works Department of the Unified Government.
He said every household whose trash collection day will change was sent a postcard with the new date, scheduled to arrive Feb. 4 to 8.
He said individual residents also will be able to go online and check their trash day, at maps.wycokck.org/TrashDay.html.
The change comes about after many customer complaints about late trash pickup and more than a year of meetings between the Unified Government and Waste Management.
During those meetings, it was discovered that some of the Wyandotte County trash routes had hundreds more customers than other routes, resulting in some customers’ trash not being picked up until the next day. The change in trash routes starting Monday will be an attempt to make those routes more even.
“What they’re trying to do with the reroute is to stabilize or smooth the number of residential units picked up every day and increase the number of trash recycling trucks available on each day of the week,” Reno said.
”The reroute is intended to resolve some collection issues by adding additional trucks to routes, smoothing the homes collected, and reduce the workload Waste Management employees have,” Reno said. “We hope that will contribute to increased performance. We hope this will resolve some of the collection issues Waste Management customers experience.”
Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association, said she noticed that a lot of homes in the Welborn area are on the list for route changes. Also, she noticed a lot of homes near I-70 and 18th Street will change, she said. Collection days will change at different locations throughout the city, according to officials.
“When we started having these meetings, I saw how many houses where trash is being picked up on Monday,” she said. “I can’t see how it can’t be a benefit, a very large benefit, because there were so many houses, and now they’ve basically cut it in half. I think it’s going to be a positive.”
At a Unified Government Commission meeting on Thursday, Feb. 14, commissioners approved a contract amendment for Waste Management and the UG, allowing the UG administrator to negotiate an amendment on the way the number of residential units is calculated, how customer complaints are tracked and penalties for missed pickups.
At a Jan. 28 UG Public Works and Safety Committee meeting, there was a discussion on new data about the household count for the trash routes.
To make sure they are moving in the right direction, the UG also would like to bring in a consultant to look at what other communities are doing, and to benchmark the UG against other communities, said Mike Tobin of the UG’s public works staff, at the Jan. 28 meeting. An earlier plan to test out a different, more automated way of collected trash in three neighborhoods is completely on hold, according to officials.
At the Jan. 28 meeting, Melissa Sieben, assistant county administrator, said they are looking at hiring the consultant as the UG needs to look at the solid waste management plan.
The cost of the consultant is contained within the budget for solid waste, and would be less than six figures, Tobin said at the Jan. 28 meeting, in response to a commissioner’s question. Later at the Jan. 28 meeting, Jeff Fisher, UG director of public works, said the cost of the consultant would be less than $50,000. The consultant’s study would probably take 90 to 120 days, Tobin said.
“I think they (Waste Management) ought to do their job,” Commissioner Mike Kane said at the Jan. 28 meeting. “Why would we pay the full load if they are the ones not doing their job? I think we should split the cost.”
Sieben said at the Jan. 28 meeting that the UG is looking at the consultant’s role as part of the county’s duty, mandated by the state, to have an updated solid waste management plan, not because of any service issues. This consultant would be looking at service in the future, and it could include some focus groups or further surveying, she said.
Commissioner Jane Philbrook said at the Jan. 28 meeting that they have finally come to the realization that one size does not fit all when it comes to this community, and that different approaches are needed for different areas. She was of the opinion that the UG ought to hold the company responsible to the current contract.
Commissioner Harold Johnson at the Jan. 28 meeting said the commission already knows if the company is doing a great job or not, and asked if they needed a consultant to tell them what they needed to do. Fisher, at the Jan. 28 meeting, said it would be a third-party expert in the industry that would be making the recommendations. It had been a few decades since the UG had updated some of its plans in this area, he said.
During the Jan. 28 discussion on the contract amendment, UG officials discussed stronger penalties for missed pickups, and also discussed the way homes are counted. The contract amendment generally authorizes the UG administrator to negotiate and make changes.
The interactive map where customers can enter their address and see what day their trash will be picked up is at maps.wycokck.org/TrashDay.html. Also, residents may call 311 for more information.